Sweden Wagers On More Wins At Falun 2015

The host nation have taken a gold medal in the Spint event of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, but there lots more events yet to be settled

As the crowds in Falun can attest the Nordic World Ski Championships are not just underway but in full swing with some of the medals already having been awarded, but there’s still many left to be settled with events right the way into March. This is, of course, the fourth time the FIS has held the championships in this picturesque venue and as ever it’s living up to its reputation as the Swedish home of winter sports.

Falun 2015 Underway
• Charlotte Kalla wins gold for the host nation
• Germans and Norwegians dominate
• Big hill events still to come

The twenty one events that comprise the championship have attracted teams from around the world from as close as Norway and as distant as Japan and consist of cross country skiing in several variations and ski jumping which has already had plenty of excitement in recent weeks with the breaking of the world record twice in just a few days just down the road boosting the frenzy of fascination surrounding those events.

However all the pre-tournament hype still doesn’t match the energy of the teams and crowds now the events have got underway, the pinnacle of winter sports demonstrating once again why it is so fiercely competed for by individuals and nations alike, and why they fed from each others successes, with individuals taking heart from a team win and the teams always been boosted by the victory of one of their number, perhaps gambling news of a success will rub off on them.

This means these early medal wins are vital for the morale of a team, and the competitors within that team, going into the later events, and thus far it’s the usual suspects making the running. As it stands as I write this the Norwegians have banged out a remarkable lead in the medals table with six gold, three silver and two bronze with the ever impressive Germans back on four golds and a silver, and the hosts with just one gold, two silvers and a bronze for their efforts thus far.

Germans & Norwegians Slug It Out

The German team romped home twenty three seconds ahead of the Norwegians in the Nordic Combined Normal Hill event, that adds ski jumping to a 4x5km cross country skiing relay, giving Tino Edelmann, Eric Frenzel, Fabian Reisle and Johnnes Rydzek a gold apiece, with Johannes taking home another for finishing 2 seconds ahead of Italian Alessandro Pittin and France’s Jason Lamy-Chappuis in the individual event that features a 10km cross country ski.

Those successes were only added to by the victory off the German mixed team in the normal hill ski jumping event that saw them pip the Norwegians into second place with a 2.3 point margin. Carina Vogt, Richard Freitag, Katharina Althaus and Severin Freund beating Line Jahr, Anders Bardal, Maren Lundby and Rune Velta into silver position ahead of Sara Takanashi, Noriaki Kasai, Yki Ito and Taku Takeuchi who took the bronze for Japan.

Japan also has a silver medal from the Women’s individual normal hill ski jumping event where she just narrowly failed to equal Carina Vogt‘s gold winning 236.9 points but stayed ahead of Daniela Iraschko-Stolz from Austria who scored 233.8. In the men’s normal hill event it was Rune Velta who grabbed gold to add to his team silver with 252.7 ahead of Germany’s Severin Freund who got silver and Stefan Kraft from Austria getting the bronze.

Of course the large hill events are still to be held and it remains to be seen if the Germany/Norway battle will be settled in the course of those two (individual & team) will decide once and for all which nation is king of the hill in 2015. Those of you who like to bet on sports in Sweden, of course, might well already be celebrating the big news which is that Charlotte Kalla has led off with a superb effort in the 10km freestyle that saw her beat off the Americans Jessica Diggins and Caitlin Gregg.

Hosts Take Gold In 10km Freestyle

Charlotte not only took the gold in that 10km freestyle but then took bronze in the 15km pursuit race missing out on the silver by just three hundredths of a second. Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen took that silver with fellow Norwegian Therese Johaug dominating the event from the front and taking a well deserved gold medal. The Norwegians also took gold in the sprint both individually, in the shape of Marit Bjorgen, and the team event where Ingvild Flugstad Ostberg and Maiken Caspersen Falla beat off Inda Ingemardotter and Stina Nilsson.

In the men’s sprint it was Norwegian Petter Northug who came home ahead of Canada’s Alex Harvey and Ola Vigen Hattestad as individuals, also taking a gold in the team event with countryman Finn Hagen Krogh as they powered by Alexei Petukhov & Nikita Kriukov of Russia and Dietmar Nockler & Federico Pellegrino of Italy. The Russian silver added to by the victory of Maxim Vylegzhanin in the 30km Pursuit who put Dario Cologna into second place ahead Alex Harvey who gets a bronze to go with his silver.

The big question is of course who’ll grab the medals in the 50km mass start race on March 1st but before that, as those of you who have checked out Come On! Sportsbook‘s wide variety of opportunities will know already, there are a few other events to be settled over the coming days including the large hill events that have that record breaking possibility adding an extra frisson of excitement to proceedings.

With Swedish gambling laws still not quite up to the standards one would expect of a western enlightened nation one can still place a bet on your countrymen to do well in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and with Charlotte Kalla leading the way for the rest of the team there’s every chance that the host nation will see some more medals before the tournament is over so choose wisely as the Norwegians and Germans are definitely out to take as much as they can get.