Majdič Wins Silver in Classic Sprint
Petra Majdič won Slovenia's first medal at the World Nordic Ski Championships in Japan. The Slovenian came in second in the women's classic sprint on 22 February, lagging only behind Astrid Jacobsen of Norway. Finland's Virpi Kuitunen was third.
Majdič led for most of the race, but Jacobsen came up with a last-minute burst of energy in the home stretch to win the first medal at the 2007 championships with a time of 2 minutes, 50.9 seconds.
The 27-year-old Slovenian, fifth-placed overall in the World Cup standings, missed gold by just 0.2 of a second in the neck-and-neck finish of the 1.2 km sprint, while pre-race favourite Kuitunen was only 0.1 seconds behind her in third.
"I managed an excellent performance. I ran faster from round to round and I have to admit I was starting to see gold around my neck towards the end. I can only say it is unforgettable," Majdič told Radio Slovenija.
This is the crowning achievement for Majdič, whose previous World Championship best was 7th place in 10 km classical in Val di Fiemme in 2003.
It is also only the fourth medal for Slovenia at Nordic World Championships. Ski jumper Franci Petek won gold in 1991, Rok Benkovič repeated the success on the small hill in 2005 and the jumpers won team bronze that same year. (sta)
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