Randall leads US duo to 6th in cross-country team sprint

No, she didn't win a medal. But the Anchorage cross-country skier turned in a smoking performance in the women's team sprint race at Whistler Olympic Park, including one on the final leg that vaulted the Americans from eighth place to sixth.

Randall skied the fourth fastest split time of the anchor leg, and her time of 3 minutes, 14.9 seconds on the 1.43-kilometer course was 5.5 seconds off Claudia Nystad's lightning-fast 3:09.4 that secured the gold medal for Germany.

In the semifinal race earlier in the day, Randall had the fastest split time in two of her three legs, including a 3:15.8 in the final leg that moved the Americans from fifth place to third.

"Even though I didn't win a medal today, to feel like I was in medal shape feels pretty good," Randall said in a phone interview. "If we had been in the fight, who knows?"

Randall and partner Caitlin Compton of Minneapolis teamed up in the event that features six loops around the sprint course. Skiers take turns racing, and in both the semifinal and final, Compton skied the first, third and fifth legs and Randall skied the second, fourth and sixth.

Compton encountered trouble early in the opening leg of the finals, putting the Americans in catch-up mode the rest of the way.

"Sweden took it out in a sprint in the first 100 meters and there was no slowing down. Russian, Germany and Italy all got away safely," Randall said.

The other six teams trailed by several meters, their poles and skis flying, and in the chaos a couple skiers got tangled up and crashed while racing up a steep hill 30 seconds into the race.

"Caitlin almost got by, and it would've been sweet, but at the last minute someone stepped on her ski and she went down," Randall said.

Had Compton managed to sidestep the snarl, Randall thinks the United States might have had a chance to close the gap on the lead pack and maybe contend for a medal.

Instead, the Americans needed a superb effort by Randall on the final leg to overtake Finland and Canada. She was 24 seconds faster than Finland's Riikka Sarasoja and seven seconds faster than Canada's Sara Renner.

"Canada had us by seven seconds or so, but I knew it was possible," Randall said. "I caught Sara over the last uphill and she hung with me coming into the stadium and we dueled it down the stretch."

Randall reached the finish line two-tenths of a second ahead of Renner, giving the United States a total time of 18 minutes, 51.6. Germany won in 18:03.7, thanks to Nystad's powerful leg that allowed her to pass Sweden near the end of the race. Sweden took silver in 18:04.3 and Russian claimed bronze in 18:07.7.

"Germany has two medal winners, Sweden has two medal winners, the Russians are super strong and the Italians (fourth in 18:14.2) won the World Cup here last year. Looking at the competition we were going up against, it takes your breath away," Randall said.

Randall showed more than once Monday that she can be pretty breath-taking herself. And that begs speculation over what Randall might have done in last week's individual sprint race if the technique had been freestyle -- as Monday's race was -- instead of classic.

Randall's freestyle skiing is superior to her classic skiing, and it's the technique that earned her a silver in last season's sprint race in the World Championships and a 2007 World Cup victory in a sprint race in Russia.

"I was happy to be on my skate skis," she said. "I know how more confident I am in my skate skiing; I know, yeah, I can be one of the best in the world in skate skiing."

Not that she's too shabby in the classic sprint. In preparation for the Olympics, Randall worked hard on the classic technique with Erik Flora, her coach in Alaska Pacific University's nordic program. She parlayed that work into an eighth-place finish last week, the best result in any event in Olympic history for an American woman.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, the sprint will be a freestyle race. Randall, 27, she said she can't wait to ski her best event in her best technique with a gold medal on the line.

"Every year I get a little more durable, and the confidence (improves) and the experience too," she said. "I've got four years to look forward to -- and the next World Championships are skating."

Reach Daily News sports editor Beth Bragg at bbragg@adn.com or 257-4335.