CROSS-COUNTRY:

Gaiazova 23rd in Stockholm sprint

March 17, 2010 — SRC Staff Report

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Russia's Nikita Kriukov won a men's cross-country sprint Wednesday ahead of overall World Cup champion Petter Northug of Norway.

Sweden's Emil Jonsson finished third in the 1.1-kilometre race around the Royal Palace in downtown Stockholm.

Anna Olsson of Sweden led the women's race from the start but just barely edged overall World Cup leader Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland in the final stretch. Olympic sprint champion Marit Bjoergen of Norway was third, 0.4 seconds behind Olsson.

Canada’s Daria Gaiazova qualified in 20th position but didn't progress from the quarterfinals, finishing 23rd overall. It was a solid World Cup result for Gaiazova, who is showing that she can be a consistently strong World Cup competitor.

On the men's side, the Canadian team showed a bit of a rebound from a weak showing in the Drammen classic sprints as Alex Harvey was the 30th and final qualifier in an extremely competitive race. Devon Kershaw was only 0.2 seconds later, but two positions back, in 32nd and out of the running for the knockout rounds.  A broken basket probably made the difference in qualifying. Graham Nishikawa was 48th and Ivan Babikov, whose strength is long-distance skate events, not classic sprints, finished 54th.  SRC

— The Canadian Press and Cross Country Canada contributed to this report