Bucher proves Olympic pedigree to become youth sprint world champion

Just 12 days ago, Heidi Bucher (AUT) was competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. Now she is a world youth champion, winning the Women’s Sprint Final in Lillehammer on Monday.

Bucher, who doesn’t turn 20 until June was the only cross-country skier in the women’s field to compete at Milano Cortina, taking part in the Individual Sprint Classic, the Team Sprint and the 4x7.5km Relay, and she put that experience to perfect use as the snow came down in south-east Norway.

“Yes, I think I was way calmer than the last years when I was at the junior world champs,” said Bucher, who finished fourth in last year’s Sprint Classic in Schilpario, Italy. “I think that was a strength and it meant I could show what I was really capable of.”

Despite Bucher’s recent elite-level experience, Monday’s event looked like Iselin Bjervig Drivenes’s to lose. Drivenes (NOR), the younger sister of Julie Bjervig Drivenes – who finished fourth in the Sprint Classic in Milano Cortina – turned 20 only two days ago.

And she seemed set to give herself the perfect late birthday present, storming through morning qualifying almost four seconds faster the Buchner then dominating her heat and semifinal.

She picked up the pace halfway through what had been a slow final, stretching the field ahead of the final climb and leading Bucher as the two skied downhill into the stadium section.

But she tied up badly as the finish line approached, allowing Bucher to move out of Drivenes’s slipstream and burst for home.

“It feels incredible,” Bucher said. “I don’t know what to say. I wanted to get a medal today and now I have the gold, it’s crazy. I just tried to stay behind the other Norwegians, and I knew that at the finish I am really good. When I was at the top [of the hill], I kind of knew I could win – and I did.”

Drivenes, who also finished second in last year’s Sprint Classic, was close to tears. “I really wanted to win today so I’m not so happy. I did my best and it wasn’t good enough. It’s very cool to compete on home soil, so it makes me want to do even better.”

Eline Skaar (NOR), who only turned 19 on New Year’s Day was “pretty satisfied” with bronze. She said: “I wanted the gold but I think tactically I raced the final very well so I must be happy. This was my only race of these championships so I will keep doing the Norwegian championships at home and try to do better next year.”

Pettersson (SWE) leads from the front to claim men’s youth title

It was almost a case of ‘last skier standing’ in the men’s event as conditions claimed several contenders before Eddie Pettersson (SWE) claimed an impressive gold, improving nine places on his performance in Schilpario last year.

Canadian Finn Redman, competing his third FIS Junior World Ski Championships, was fastest in morning qualifying, but paid the price for getting out of position in a competitive first semifinal and trailed home fifth.

Noah Marius Olsen (NOR), the second-fastest qualifier, hoped to celebrate his 20^th birthday with a medal around his neck, but he fell victim to the snowy conditions in his quarter-final and crashed out.

So too Mario Perrillat Collomb (FRA), who hit the ground on the finish straight while in contention during his semi-final.

Jonas Malmo Skogstad (NOR) did make the final but at the top of the final climb he, too, fell, leaving a three-way fight for medals between Pettersson, Youth Olympic Winter Games champion, Federico Pozzo, and Leopold Strand (NOR), who doesn’t turn 19 for another two weeks but already stepped on the Junior World Championship podium after last year’s 20km Classic Mass Start.

It was Pozzo who looked to have the strongest finish during the semi-finals but in the final he was held off by the impressive Pettersson, who led from start to finish, and eventually Strand. The Swede will hope to follow in the footsteps of Lars Heggen (NOR), 20, who won this race in Planica, Slovenia in 2024, finished second last year and has made the podium five times, including one victory, in this his debut World Cup season.

The action continues in Lillehammer on Tuesday with the Women’s and Men’s U23 Sprint Freestyle races.

For the full results and schedule, click here