Federico Pellegrino was met with great jubilation. © Pentaphoto

In Switzerland: Federico Pellegrino is the celebrated hero

Italy's star cross-country skier Federico Pellegrino is on his farewell tour. On Saturday, the Aosta native delighted the audience in Switzerland.

13 December 2025

From: det

On December 12, 2010, Federico Pellegrino made his debut in the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup. Where? In Davos! At that time, no one could have guessed that the 35-year-old would become a crowd favorite in the prestigious Swiss resort. Now, on Saturday, Pellegrino secured an outstanding second place in the sprint event – ​​marking his ninth podium finish in Davos. It's no wonder the Italian was given a rapturous reception by the Swiss fans.

This is Pellegrino's farewell season, with a medal at the Olympic Games being his main goal. Even at 35, the Italian is still proving he's among the world's best sprinters. On Saturday, he was beaten by Frenchman Lucas Chanavat by just 0,03 seconds. Norwegian Oskar Opstad Vike finished third.

Michael Hellweger pointed it out.

Michael Hellweger also delivered a strong performance. The 29-year-old from Sarnen completed a phenomenal qualifying round, posting the tenth-fastest time. In the quarterfinals, he narrowly missed advancing to the next round. Hellweger thus finished the race in 13th place, four places ahead of superstar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. The Norwegian suffered a debacle and was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

In the women's competition, Swede Jonna Sundling was able to celebrate, having prevailed against Mathilde Myhrvold (Norway) and Nadine Fähndrich (Switzerland).