And she is the famous Norwegian cross-country skier, multiple World and Olympic Champion, winner of the Tour de Ski, etc.—Therese Johaug, nicknamed “the sewing machine” due to her incredibly high skiing cadence!
68:43!
She didn’t just break her target threshold of 70 minutes; she flew through the course faster than every single representative of the European elite from the professional race (the best among them, Finland’s European marathon Champion Alisa Vainio, crossed the finish line with a slower time).
The funny thing is that Therese is already 38 years old and retired from professional skiing a couple of years ago.
Furthermore, just 8 months ago—in January 2026—she gave birth to her second child, all while battling a painful adductor muscle injury right up until the start of the race.
Therese has always run fast and always with a classic skiing technique: low on the knee with a low-slung, gliding stride.
It is a pity that Johaug did not apply to join the Norwegian national team and did not start alongside the top women in the elite wave. However, among the amateurs in the mass race, she found plenty of male rivals, many of whom she beat—just as she used to beat male professional skiers in the old days on the legendary Alpe Cermis climb at the finish of the Tour de Ski.