Gina del Rio Finishes 12th in Falun World Cup Sprint

Andorran cross-country skier Gina del Rio finished 12th in the women's skating sprint at the World Cup event in Falun, Sweden, marking her return to the circuit after the Winter Olympics. The skier from the Andorran federation advanced to the semifinals but fell twice on uphill sections, finishing last in her heat and 21 seconds behind the leader.

Del Rio qualified 25th with a time of 3:06.69, 12.33 seconds off the pace set by Sweden's Linn Svahn, who went on to win the race. In the quarterfinals, she produced a strong comeback, surging from mid-pack to take second place and secure direct qualification to the semifinals. Her promising run ended in the penultimate round, however, as the stumbles left her unable to rejoin the leaders.

"It's the best result of my season and my second-best ever in World Cup sprints," del Rio said, adding that the performance left the team "with a very good taste in our mouths" following the Olympics. The 12th place is her second-highest World Cup finish, behind only a fourth in Tallinn last season, and her fourth top-15 in skating sprints. It brings her total top-30 finishes in the series to 11, underlining her status among the circuit's leading sprinters.

Del Rio now heads to Lillehammer, Norway, for her final under-23 World Championships, starting Tuesday with another skating sprint (qualifiers at 10:00, finals from 12:30). She will follow with the 20km skate on Thursday and 10km classic individual on Saturday. Last year at her debut under-23 Worlds in Schilpario, Italy, she earned bronze in the classic sprint, placed 20th in the 20km classic mass start, and 22nd in the 10km skate. She also won gold in the skating sprint at the 2024 junior Worlds in Planica, along with silver in the 10km classic and bronze in the 20km skate mass start. Her best senior Worlds result was 10th in the skating sprint at Trondheim last season.