The Sidelines : Dybendahl Wins Cross-Country

Trude Dybendahl captured the women’s 5-kilometer cross-country race today for Norway’s fourth gold at the World Nordic Ski Championships.

Dybendahl’s winning time of 14 minutes, 4.2 seconds in the women’s sprint race edged Finnish veteran Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi by 5.7 seconds.

“My race was 100%,” Dybendahl said. “I got into a nice rhythm from the beginning and I didn’t feel stiff in my legs on the uphill stretches like I did on Friday.”

Manuela di Centa of Italy won her country’s second bronze medal in the championships. She was 19.9 seconds behind the winner.

For Dybendahl, it was the second medal in a classic-style, kick-and-glide, race at the championships. She won a silver--her first medal in a major event--in the 15K on Friday.

The powerful team from the Soviet Union was without a medal for the first time in a women’s race here. Soviet Lyubov Egorova, one of the early starters, was fourth, 23.1 seconds behind Dybendahl.

Nancy Fiddler of Crowley Lake, Calif., skied her best race in the championships, placing 18th in 14:50.2.