Gold medalist team (L-R) Yulia Stupak, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina, Veronika Stepanova celebrate during the medal ceremony for the Women’s 4x5km Relay race at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games Saturday. Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA-EFE
Feb. 12 (UPI) — The Russian Olympic Committee took the gold medal Saturday in the women’s cross-country 4×5 kilometer relay at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre.
Germany placed second, 18.2 seconds off the pace, while Sweden captured the bronze medal, 20.7 seconds behind the leaders in the 20-kilometer race. The race had a total climb of 88 meters.
Yulia Stupek, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina and Veronika Stepanova won gold for the ROC in 53 minutes and 41 seconds. Stepanova secured the lead for the ROC during a back-and-forth battle with Germany. She became the second-youngest athlete to win a gold medal in the history of the event, at 21 years and 39 days.
“I was warming up and I was already calculating that the first leg would be ordinary and then we would have to solve the problem,” Stepanova told Inside The Games.
“We decided to follow the coach’s plan and everything worked out.”
Finland finished in fourth place, a half second behind Sweden.
The United States finished in sixth place, 1 minute and 28.2 seconds behind the ROC women.
Priska Nufer of Switzerland skis to the best time in the first women’s downhill training at the Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 12, 2022. Photo by Rick T. Wilking/UPI | License Photo
Gold medalist team (L-R) Yulia Stupak, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina, Veronika Stepanova celebrate during the medal ceremony for the Women’s 4x5km Relay race at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games Saturday. Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA-EFE Feb. 12 (UPI) — The Russian Olympic Committee took the gold medal Saturday in the women’s cross-country 4×5 kilometer relay at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre. Germany placed second, 18.2 seconds off the pace, while Sweden captured the bronze medal, 20.7 seconds behind the leaders in the 20-kilometer race. The race had a total climb of 88 meters. Yulia Stupek, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina and Veronika Stepanova won gold for the ROC in 53 minutes and 41 seconds. Stepanova secured the lead for the ROC during a back-and-forth battle with Germany. She became the second-youngest athlete to win a gold medal in the history of the event, at 21 years and 39 days. “I was warming up and I was already calculating that the first leg would be ordinary and then we would have to solve the problem,” Stepanova told Inside The Games. “We decided to follow the coach’s plan and everything worked out.” Finland finished in fourth place, a half second behind Sweden. The United States finished in sixth place, 1 minute and 28.2 seconds behind the ROC women. Priska Nufer of Switzerland skis to the best time in the first women’s downhill training at the Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 12, 2022. Photo by Rick T. Wilking/UPI | License Photo