Norway dominated day three of the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Lillehammer on March 4, 2026, with Julie Sand-Hanssen and Emil August Longva claiming gold in the women's and men's 20km cross-country mass starts. France secured strong results in ski jumping and nordic combined, while Czech and Finnish athletes also medaled across disciplines.
The third day of the 2026 FIS World Junior and U23 Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, delivered thrilling action on home snow for the hosts.
In the morning women's 20km skate mass-start event, Julie Sand-Hanssen of Norway, 19, surged from 16th entering the final lap to gold, overtaking Germany's Luisa Dahlke on the uphill finish by 0.8 seconds. Dahlke, 18, took silver after leading much of the race, while Austria's Heidi Bucher earned bronze, 6.1 seconds back. Canada's Ruby Serrouya was fourth, and Norway’s Iselin Bjervig Drivenes fifth. Sand-Hanssen celebrated with her twin sister Norah (14th), crediting the home crowd: “I’m so happy. It’s been completely insane.” Dahlke said, “I’m really happy. It was kind of a chilled race... I felt really good today.” Bucher, fresh off sprint gold, added, “It feels amazing... my sprint finish was good enough to secure a medal.” France's Agathe Margreither finished 10th, Romane Nappey 12th, Lucile Coutaz 34th, and Annette Coupat 42nd.
Later, in the men's 20km free mass-start, 18-year-old Norwegian Emil August Longva—a mountain biker in summer—completed the double gold. A breakaway of four (Longva, Italy’s Marco Pinzani, Finland’s Anton Kemppi, Italy’s Daniel Pedranzini) formed after the third lap. Longva attacked in the final kilometer to win by 1.8 seconds over Pinzani, with Kemppi bronze 0.3 seconds ahead of Pedranzini. Canada’s Zachari Moreau was fifth, 45.6 seconds back. Other top-10: Slovenia’s Tine Sporn (6th), Germany’s Wilhelm Louis Sjaafjell (7th), Austria’s Elias Eischer (8th), Norway’s Marcus Alexander Næss (9th), USA’s Tabor Greenberg (10th). France's Mario Perrillat-Collomb placed 11th, Gaspard Cottaz 13th, Victor Lafrasse 45th, Johan Calandry 53rd. Longva said, “I feel really relieved... In the first lap, it was just about going safe.” Pinzani: “It was amazing... I’m still really happy.” Kemppi: “I have to be satisfied... I just couldn’t drop the other guys.”
The women's ski jumping saw a two-hour delay in the second round. Czech Republic's Anezka Indrackova won gold (95m and 98m), edging Norway's Ingvild Synnoeve Midtskogen (94m and 93.5m) by 2.3 points for silver. Finland's Sofia Mattila took bronze (99m and 97m). France's Capucine Mesnil, 15, finished seventh (94m and 86.5m), and Mathilde Bacconnier 27th (92.5m and 77m).
In nordic combined women's team sprint, the jump phase placed France's Marion Droz-Vincent (83.5m) and Romane Baud (91.5m), 18 and 19, fourth—six seconds behind third-placed Austria, 44 seconds behind leaders Slovenia's Teja Pavec and Tia Malovrh. The cross-country leg started at 15:00 CET.
These results marked Norway's third and fourth golds of the championships, underscoring their home dominance amid competitive showings from Europe and beyond.
