Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell (second from right, right) celebrate their third-place finish at the FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup on Feb. 5, 2017 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Led by a third-place finish by 2014 Olympians Sophie Caldwell and Ida Sargent in the team sprint, Team USA’s cross-country skiers closed out the Olympic test event Sunday in PyeongChang, South Korea, with a strong showing that included three top-five finishes.
Caldwell and Sargent completed the course in 20:38.82, 6.11 seconds behind Sweden’s Elin Mohlin and Maria Nordstrom, who won in 20:37.11. Norway’s Anna Svendsen and Silje Oeyre Slind were second, posting a 2:38.82. Hot on Caldwell and Sargent’s heels were Caitlin Patterson and Liz Stephen, whose 20:43.57 gave Team USA two of the top four finishes.
Caldwell, who was sixth in the sprint event at the Sochi Olympics, picked up her fourth world cup podium, the first since a relay second place in January 2016 in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, while Sargent earned her second world cup podium after taking third in Friday’s sprint.
Patterson was also fourth in Saturday’s skiathlon, two spots behind Stephen, who earned her second-career individual podium then.
Three-time Olympian Andy Newell and two-time Olympian Simi Hamilton took fourth in the men’s team sprint, hitting the line at 19:58.34, 24.23 seconds behind Russia’s Andrey Parfenov and Gleb Retivykh, winners with their 19:34.11. Scott Patterson and Matt Gelso were ninth, logging a 20:28.96. It marks the second team sprint top-10 finish for Newell and Hamilton in the three weeks after their sixth place Jan. 15 in Toblach, Italy.
