Norway and Sweden skiers claim titles of tour de ski China Yan'an stage

YAN'AN, China, Jan.7 (Xinhua) -- Norway and Sweden skiers claimed the titles of men's and women's 1.3km sprint final in tuor de ski China Yan'an stage here on Sunday.

Jackline Lockner from Sweden topped the women's sprint and extended her winning streak to three. She got a huge advantage at the beginning and then claimed the gold medal easily.

Qu Ying from China placed third and Noora Kivikko from Finland was ahead of her for the silver medal.

Li Hongxue, the bronze medalist of 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games, was eliminated at quarterfinal.

"My performance is not as good as I thought due to the bad weather, but what every skier suffered today is equal. So there is nothing to complain," said Li.

Ragnar Bragvi Andersen edged Fabian Stocek from Czech Republic to win the men's sprint final. Swedish Lukas Johansson placed the third in the heavy snow and strong wind at Yan'an international ski resort.

"The match is very competitive and the other players are so strong, I'm so excited that I was stick to the finish line," said Andersen.

"The resort is very international and the track is professional. The weather is a challenge but we get used to it," the Norwegian added.

As the fourth stage of tour de ski China 2018, Yan'an of Shaanxi province is attracting 80 athletes from ten countries and regions. The final stage in Beijing will be held on Tuesday. Enditem