“It’s amazing to win gold”

Finland and Japan took the women’s and men’s gold medals in the 4 x 7.5 km cross-country skiing relay races on Tuesday, 21 January at the Torino 2025 FISU World University Games.

The women’s event went first in Pragelato Plan and, after more than 80 minutes of fierce competition, Hanna Ray, Elsa Torvinen, Iida Vuollet and Anni Lindroos crossed the finish line in 1:20:57.0 to give their country its first title of the Games in the sport.

The Finns led for most of the race, with the exception of the second exchange where Japan briefly went in front. In the end, Chika Honda, Takane Tochitani, Karen Hatakeyama and Kaho Nakajima settled for silver in 1:21:28.2.

Bronze went to Felicie Chappaz, Manon Favre Bonvin, Julie Marciniak and France Pignot of France (1:22:03.5).

Anni Lindroos, a 23-year-old student from Abo Akademi University in Vaasa went last for the winners. She secured her second medal in Torino, after taking bronze in the individual sprint.

“I am feeling really tired, but also happy. It’s amazing to win gold, that was our goal for today. It was hard to ski by myself and to keep a good pace all the way. It was tough, but the girls did an amazing job before me,” she said.

On the men’s side, Japan also claimed its first cross-country skiing gold of the week thanks to Sho Kasahara, Ikuya Takizawa, Daito Yamazaki and Kanta Sakai, who prevailed in 1:08:45.9.

Switzerland’s Nolan Gertsch, Silvan Durrer, Maxime Beguin and Jan Faessler finished second (1:09:06.8), while Finland’s Topias Kemppi, Markus Kasanen, Eelis Valikainen and Nico Bennert placed third (1:09:20.9).

The battle for first was very close around the halfway mark, with the Finns leading after the second exchange. But then came the Yamazaki Show. The third Japanese skier not only erased his team’s deficit but built a 40-second advantage, which was enough for Sakai to hold on for the win.

“I’m very happy. My result doesn’t matter that much for me, I care more that I enjoyed the race,” stated Daito Yamazaki, a 21-year-old student from Waseda University in Tokyo. “Team preparation for the Games went really well. Also, the team which waxes the skies did a great job. For the last race, I plan to start aggressively and try to keep that up as much as possible.”

With one day of cross-country skiing left in Torino, Finland is the most successful nation in the sport with six medals. The 20 km mass start classic races are set for Thursday, 23 January.

The Torino 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Nejc Molan, FISU Young Reporter, Slovenia

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competitions

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