Andorran Skier Gina del Rio Claims 12th in Falun World Cup Sprint

Andorran cross-country skier Gina del Rio finished 12th overall in the women's 1.4km skating sprint at the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Falun, Sweden, on Saturday, reaching the semifinals after a dramatic quarterfinal comeback but hampered by two slips in the later heat.

In qualifying, del Rio posted 3:06.69 to rank 25th, 12.33 seconds behind winner Linn Svahn of Sweden, earning a berth among the top 30 for the quarterfinals. Starting in fifth place in a stacked heat featuring Switzerland's Nadine Faehndrich and Finland's Jasmi Joensuu, she mounted a strong surge over the final kilometre to take second in 3:02.87—1.12 seconds off Faehndrich's pace—advancing with Switzerland's Anja Weber and Canada's Liliane Gagnon.

The semifinals pitted del Rio against top contenders including Svahn, Norway's Kristine Stavås Skistad, Faehndrich, Weber, Germany's Coletta Rydzek, and Gagnon. She got off to a solid start on heavily tracked and transformed snow, but two slips—likely due to equipment issues on key uphill sections—derailed her momentum. Unable to rejoin the leaders after the second stumble, she clocked 3:26.05, the slowest semifinal time and last in her heat, for 12th place overall. Svahn won ahead of Skistad and Faehndrich.

Del Rio described the outcome positively, saying it left the team "with a very good taste in our mouths because after the Olympics, a result like this always motivates." She called it her best World Cup sprint result this season and second-best career mark, behind only fourth place last year in Tallinn. The performance marks her 11th top-30 finish in World Cup events and fourth top-15 in skating sprints, signaling steady elite-level progress since resuming international racing after resting in Andorra following the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Representing the Andorran Ski Federation, del Rio heads next to Lillehammer, Norway, for the Under-23 World Championships, opening Tuesday with the skating sprint, followed by Thursday's 20km skate and Saturday's 10km classic individual.