Milan-Cortina, February 13, 2026 – The Europe Today: Sweden’s Frida Karlsson clinched her second gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after a commanding performance in the women’s 10km freestyle cross-country skiing event on Thursday.
Karlsson completed the race in 22 minutes and 49.2 seconds, finishing 46.6 seconds ahead of her Swedish teammate Ebba Andersson, who secured the silver medal. American skier Jessie Diggins claimed bronze with a time of 23:38.9, according to media reports.
The victory marked Karlsson’s second title at the Games, following her earlier triumph in the women’s 10km+10km skiathlon event. Speaking after the race, Karlsson expressed surprise at her dominant display.
“I totally surprised myself — it was crazy out there,” she said. “I was getting so much energy from the spectators. We had a lot of Swedes here cheering, and our coaches were giving me splits and so much encouragement, carrying me all the way to this gold.”
Meanwhile, among the four Chinese competitors, Chi Chunxue finished 66th, while He Kaili, Wang Yundi and Dinigeer Yilamujiang placed 72nd, 74th and 78th respectively.
The men’s 10km freestyle competition is scheduled to take place on Friday, continuing the cross-country skiing program at the Games.
