Northug triumphs Petter Northug of Norway and Evi Sachenbacher of Germany won pursuit events yesterday at a World Cup cross-country ski meet in Falun, Sweden.
Northug, a 20-year-old who is considered Norway's most promising skier, edged two Germans on the final straightaway in the men's event, a 10-kilometer classic-style race and a 10K freestyle leg to finish in 51 minutes 42.2 seconds.
Tobias Angerer was second and defending World Cup champion Axel Teichmann third, both crossing the line in 51:42.7.
It was Northug's first World Cup victory.
Sachenbacher outkicked Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic and Beckie Scott of Canada to win the women's event -- 5 kilometers classic style and 5K freestyle -- in 29:26.7. It was Sachenbacher's third World Cup win.
A Wildcat strike Wildcat Mountain last weekend held its annual Vertical Challenge in which 26 skiers skied a total of 100,000 vertical feet (48 runs). The funds raised through pledges brought in $17,750 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Best total of the day was Mark Holmes, a ski instructor at Wildcat . . . A group of New England skiers are heading to Vail, Colo., to take part in the American Airlines Celebrity Ski Event, and helped in the effort to raise more than $1 million for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Former Red Sox stars Jim Lonborg and Fred Lynn will be part of the New England team for the ski racing events and a fund-raising dinner . . . The annual Jack Williams Ski Race for Wednesday's Child will take place at Waterville Valley. Williams and his wife, Marci, who run the event with lots of volunteer help, have raised more than $4 million in the Wednesday's Child program to aid special needs adoption.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
