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No two Olympic medals are won the same way.
Sweden had a chance to win a gold medal in the women’s 4 x 7.5 km relay, but Ebba Andersson fell hard and rolled over. When Andersson got up, she realized she had lost her right ski and couldn’t put it back on.
She then trudged on with one ski, carrying the other under her arm, while waiting for the Swedish ski technician to join her with a new ski. The hectic scene unfolded as Andersson attempted to maintain Sweden’s place on the podium.
Worse still, the ski technician, while running to catch up with Andersson, also fell in the snow to delay them even further.
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Ebba Andersson tags teammate Frida Karlsson, right, during the women’s 4×7.5km cross-country skiing relay at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Tesero, Italy, February 14, 2026. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo)
“She fell again,” BBC commentator Rob Walker said at the time of the accident, via the New York Post. “An absolute disaster – and she lost a ski. She’s doing her best to make up for it.”
“What a nightmare this turned out to be for the Swede. Everything has gone very well so far. Frida Karlsson (Andersson’s teammate) can barely bring herself to watch.”
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Frida Karlsson leaves the course after completing her leg of the women’s 4×7.5 km cross-country ski relay at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Tesero, Italy, February 14, 2026. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)
“And what an effort from Andersson. She’s running. She’s running with the ski under her arm. Desperate to give Karlsson at least something to aim for.”
The fall and time without skiing dropped Sweden to seventh, but they rallied to finish second and win a silver medal. Norway beat Sweden by 50.9 seconds, finishing with a time of 1:15:44.8 to secure the gold medal.
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Heidi Weng celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women’s 4×7.5km relay in cross-country skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Tesero, Italy, February 14, 2026. (Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)
Although he recovered enough to earn a silver medal, Andersson was upset by the fall.
“My body is fine, but my heart is not,” Andersson said. “I can’t blame anyone but myself. I didn’t act well enough at that moment. Then we had the worst possible bad luck with the broken ski. It was mostly panic and chaos during that whole stage.”
