XC: Aussie best results in Lahti

Australia’s cross country skiers have continued their solid results at the Nordic Ski World Championships in Lahti, Finland this week.

In only the third time that Australia has entered a 4x5km women’s relay at a World Championships, the team made up of Jess Yeaton, Barbara Jezersek, Aimee Watson and Katerina Paul, have finished in an outstanding 15th place overnight.

With short laps the Australian team were on their game, avoiding being lapped out from the race, as the first women's team to finish since 1993.

Earlier in the week, in challenging waxing conditions, Yeaton secured Australia’s best result claiming 48th in the women’s 10km classic event.

She was just over 4 minutes off gold medallist Marit Bjoergen of Norway who was in a class of her own as she won the event by 41 seconds.

Jezersek, who claimed Australia’s best ever World Championship result earlier this week, started well and looked in contention for a top forty finish before fading to 51st while Aimee Watson finished 55th out of the field of 72 starters.

In the men’s 15km classic Phil Bellingham scored his best World Championship distance result with 60th place, five and a half minutes behind local favourite Iivo Niskanen of Finland who claimed gold. Fellow Aussie Paul Kovacs finished just under 6 minutes off the winner in 62nd out of 88 men.

Article credits to olympics.com.au