There was gold in them thar Norwegian hills as we round up who won what at the Nordic World Championships in Oslo, Norway.
Cheered on by his home crowd, Petter Northug was imperious as he swept all before him in the Cross-country skiing events at the Nordic World Championships.
"I didn't have the strength to do anything special after crossing the finish line. I just felt dizzy and had cramps. In my head it felt like I almost did a 180-degree pirouette," he said after winning the 50km individual race. “The 50km race has been in my mind every hour for the last year.
“Winning feels like a heavy burden has been lifted off my back. During the race, everything was just right and the crowd lifted my spirit.”
In his wake, he left his Norway team-mate Tord Asle Gjerdalen singing his praises. "I was just two metres behind Petter and the Russian [Maxim Vylegzhanin] at the finish line. It was two metres too much," he said. "Petter and I talked a lot during the race. A few kilometres from the finish he told me about his tactics. There aren't many people who would give away that kind of inside information."
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Trading places: Morgenstern and Schlierenzauer
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The Austrians cleaned up in the hill jumping as the mutual admiration society of Thomas Morgenstern and Gregor Schlierenzauer took it in turns to top the podium.
Morgenstern and Andreas Kofler secured gold and silver in the Normal Hill individual jump and won the normal hill team event. Schlierenzauer then took gold while Morgenstern grabbed silver on the large hill before taking the team gold on Saturday.
"Being crowned champion at the Holmenkollen is just crazy," said Gregor Schlierenzauer, who had been out of the medals in fourth place after the first round before he rocketed to the top: "It’s just unbelievable. This season has been amazing. And I’ve had to fight just to get to the World Cup in the first place. In the end, it was close and I had a bit of good luck to be on top at the end," added the 21-year-old after the nerve-shredding finale.
"I'm super happy. This is my first silver at the World Cup, which fits nicely into my trophy cabinet. And this was really exciting for the spectators,“ said Morgenstern. "Greg deserves it. Absolute respect. You don’t get to be a world champion by luck. He did a great job."
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National pride at stake
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Northug and Gjerdalen also joined forces with the pride of two nations in the balance as Norway took on Sweden in the Men’s cross-country relay - or more accurately - as Norway’s big finisher Petter Northug took on Sweden’s Marcus Hellner.
“It came down to another duel between me and Marcus Hellner and it triggered me,” said home favourite Petter Northug, who was definitely the man to beat. “But I felt I had an psychological advantage and I showed them my strength."
“My legs felt heavy towards the end and I wasn't able to follow Petter,” said Marcus Hellner as he took silver. “The finish is typical of Petter. A bit arrogant.”
“I almost hoped he [Northug] would fall,” adds Sweden’s Johan Olsson. “Petter is a brutal finisher.”
“Petter loves to win,” explains his Norway team-mate Tord Asle Gjerdalen. “I'm incredibly happy now, my legs are numb, but I'm incredibly happy.”
"Petter Northug might have had everything under control, but I didn't," the unofficial comments of Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg underlines the importance of the victory.
"King Carl Gustav, can you hear me?” Petter Northug evokes this bit of Norwegian triumphalism as he crosses the line first after “The most important relay of our lives.”
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Farewell to a high flyer
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And finally, another legend called time on his illustrious career, as Adam Malysz announced his retirement.
"These are my last championships. It was difficult to tell my fans, but I made the decision a long time ago," said the humble Polish star.
"If it is true that Adam is ending his career after this season, it will be a whole new situation in the ski-jumping family,” said Swiss star Simon Amman. “He is a great sports man and very likeable as a person."
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