OBERSTDORF, Germany, 18 February 2005 — Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic edged another mother, Russian Julija Tchepalova, to claim her first major event cross-country skiing gold medal in the opening 10 kilometers race at the Nordic world championships yesterday.
Pietro Piller Cottrer won the men’s 15km freestyle title, ahead of fellow Italian Fulvia Valbusa and Norway’s Tore Ruud Hofstad.
Neumannova, who celebrated her 32nd birthday on Tuesday, hung on to her slim lead at the intermediate stages to win by 1.2 seconds in 26 minutes 27.6 seconds.
Tchepalova had earlier crossed the line in 26:28.8 and then cried bitter tears when she was beaten. The bronze medal went to Norwegian World Cup leader Marit Bjoergen in 26:42.8 minutes.
Neumannova and Tchepalova had both sat out the 2003 worlds as they became mothers of daughters Lucia and Olicia, respectively.
“It’s my second victory, the first was my daughter,” said Neumannova, who has always insisted that family comes first in her life.
“Lucia waits for me when I return from training. She helps me because I am more relaxed, not focused on skiing alone,” said Neumannova.
Tchepalova agreed: “I get a lot of energy from my family.”
Neumannova’s daughter may come first, but she was nonetheless delighted to finally get a gold after winning 15 World Cup races, three Olympic silvers and two bronze medals at previous worlds.
“This is the best day in my sports career because it is my first big title,” she said.
Neumannova missed the 2003 season with Lucia born in July 2003, but she was back in winning style in December 2003.
The Czech was among the favorites yesterday as she had won both 10km freestyle World Cup races she competed in this season for an overall 15 career wins.
But she only barely hung on to beat Tchepalova under the sunny skies as she regained her form in time from a flu.
“I didn’t exactly know what shape I would be in,” said Nuemannova.
