Norwegian skier Johaug runs 10 km road race under 31 minutes, eyes Olympic summer prospects

Therese Johaug, the Norwegian cross-country skiing star and Olympic and world champion, ran a 10-kilometre road race in 30:51 on Saturday at the "Hytteplanmila" event in Norway. The result fuels talk that the 38-year-old could attempt a marathon at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in two years.

Goal and result

Johaug had set herself the target of covering the distance in 31 minutes. She did it slightly faster, finishing under that mark. After crossing the line she said she regarded the goal as ambitious and had been prepared for the possibility of fading and finishing in 31:10.

Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, she said she is currently "90 percent closer" to the Summer Olympics than to the Winter Games.

Earlier half marathon

Johaug recently also ran a half marathon in a neighbouring country. She covered each kilometre at a pace faster than 3:20 and finished in 1:08:43. That is about half a minute slower than the Latvian record held by Jelena Prokopchuk, a two-time New York City Marathon winner.

Reactions and plans

The mother of two has 14 world championship medals and four Olympic gold medals in cross-country skiing. On her podcast she has said that making an Olympic debut in the summer Games is one of her dreams.

The race was commented on by Narve Gilje Nordås, the 2023 world championship bronze medallist over 1,500 metres. In his view, Johaug should start running, qualify for the world championships and the Olympics, and represent the national team.

Johaug stresses that running gives her mental energy, lets her be in nature, challenge herself and makes her a better mother. She added that if she had to choose one sport for the rest of her life, it would be running. For now she hopes snow will not spoil running conditions in the coming weeks, joking that it can snow at Christmas.