Exciting showdowns in Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Orienteering at Goms Nordic Center

LUCERNE (SUI) – Yesterday, the Nordic Center in Goms was the scene of thrilling action as two major events took center stage: the Cross-Country Skiing Team Sprint and the Ski-Orienteering Middle Distance. Despite overcast skies and challenging winds, the athletes demonstrated remarkable resilience. The Swiss team earned one gold and one silver in cross-country skiing, further cementing their dominance in international military sports.

Women's Team Sprint: home victory for Switzerland

In a highly competitive field, Switzerland’s Women’s Team 1, featuring Giuliana Werro and Nadja Kälin, delivered an exceptional performance. With consistent, fast lap times—particularly from Kälin, who completed her final lap in 3:33.66 minutes—the team secured the gold medal with a total time of 22:04.21 minutes.

Italy took second place, with Erica Antoniazzi and Ilenia Defrancesco finishing 8.46 seconds behind the Swiss team. France, represented by Marion Buillet and Léna Quintin, claimed the bronze with a time of +25.55 seconds.

Men's Team Sprint: France edges Switzerland by a fraction

In a thrilling men’s final, France and Switzerland went head-to-head in an electrifying race. After six laps, the teams were separated by a mere 0.82 seconds. The French duo of Thomas Chambellant and Tom Mancini crossed the finish line first in 18:43.60 minutes, narrowly beating Switzerland’s Cyril Fähndrich and Janik Riebli, who claimed silver in 18:44.42 minutes.

Italy’s Team 1 secured the bronze, finishing just 3.43 seconds behind the leaders. Teams from Norway, Germany, and France 2 closely trailed, all within 15 seconds of the top time.

Ski-Orienteering: victories for Bulgaria and Sweden

In the men’s middle-distance event, Bulgaria’s Stanimir Belomazhev put on a stellar performance, claiming victory with a time of 39:50 minutes, just four seconds ahead of Sweden’s Rasmus Wickbom. France’s Nils Gouy finished third, 13 seconds behind. Swiss athletes Severin Müller and Lars Niklaus Beglinger finished 10th and 11th, respectively.

In the women’s race, Sweden’s Evelina Wickbom emerged victorious with a time of 40:01 minutes, closely followed by Bulgaria’s Antoniya Grigorova, who finished just 10 seconds behind. Estonia’s Doris Kudre rounded out the podium, taking third place, 2:14 minutes later.

The day was once again defined by sporting respect, camaraderie, and the unique atmosphere that only the Military World Games can offer—a fitting highlight with even more exciting competitions on the horizon.

• All results are available at: https://www.cism-wmc.ch/en/ranking

• Pictures from the events can be found here: https://share.dma.swiss/s/poZoWrNm6ADwkg9

(Source: https://www.cism-wmc.ch/ – WINOC 25)