Clearly the favorite going into the World Cup, Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist won the skate sprint in downtown Dresden on Saturday. 

But what a comeback for Dahlqvist’s teammate Jonna Sundling: Returning to start line after four weeks without racing due to an injury, the 26-year-old posted the fastest qualifier time. Sundling advanced to win her quarterfinal, was second on the semifinal behind Dahlqvist. 

In the final everything was set up for a Swedish battle for the top of the podium: Jonna Sundling in her first World Cup of the season, and Maja Dahlqvist coming off three consecutive World Cup victories. Today, Dahlqvist made that four. 

Dahlqvist thereby takes the overall World Cup lead from fellow Swedish national team racer and best friend Frida Karlsson. 

Women’s Final, Sprint F, World Cup Dresden
1. Maja Dahlqvist, Sweden, 2:33.36
2. Jonna Sundling, Sweden, +0.43
3. Anamarija Lampic, Slovenia +0.64
4. Kristine Stavås Skistad, Norway, +1.64
5. Mathilde Myhrvold, Norway, +3.03
6. Eva Urevc, Slovenia, +6.15

Complete results

Tomorrow the World Cup in Dresden continues with team sprints for both men and women.