Estonian women's XC ski relay team narrowly misses top 10 at world champs

The Estonian national women's ski relay team shattered records with an 11th-place finish at the Nordic Skiing World Championships women's 4x7.5 km relay in Trondheim, Norway, marking their best result ever and edging closer to a coveted top-10 spot.
Previously, Estonia had finished 13th at both the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, plus a 12th place way back at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
The team last competed at a World Championship in 2021, where they failed to complete all legs before being lapped by the leaders.
Right from the start of the relay, Estonia was competing with Canada for ninth place. Kaidy Kaasiku sent her twin sister Keidy onto the course 1:28 behind the leading Norwegian team, trailing the Canadians by three seconds.
Keidy Kaasiku's strong leg pushed Estonia into ninth place, widening the lead over Canada to 20 seconds at the halfway mark.
However, by the 17.4 km point, Mariel Merlii Pulles' advantage over Canada had shrunk from 30 seconds to just five.
Estonia's anchor, Teesi Tuul, began her section in 10th place, barely ahead of Japan.
By the middle of her leg, she had lost 40 seconds to the Japanese skier over 700 meters and ultimately finished in 11th place (+7:47.6).
Despite falling just short of the top 10, Estonia's finish was a historic achievement, surpassing all previous World Championship performances.
Sweden won gold by overtaking Norway in the final sprint, finishing just 0.7 seconds ahead. Germany took bronze, narrowly edging Finland.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte