With the world championship beginning Wednesday in Finland, Anchorage cross-country skier Kikkan Randall turned in a sharp performance Saturday in a World Cup race in Otepaa, Estonia.
Randall was the third-fastest qualifier and made it as far as the semifinals before a crash took her out of contention for a spot in the six-woman finals of a freestyle sprint race.
She finished ninth, one of the best results of the season for the three-time World Cup sprint champion who skipped last season to have a baby.
"I felt good, but not exceptional during my race," Randall said in an email. "To be able to lay down a fast qualifier like that gives me confidence that I've made it one step closer to the kind of race form I had when I was contending for wins and podiums in every skate sprint."
It was a good day for the U.S. Ski Team, which advanced seven skiers into the heats, including Randall and Sadie Bjornsen of Alaska Pacific University's Nordic program. Bjornsen's day ended in the quarterfinals and finished in 20th place.
Jessie Diggins of Minnesota led the Americans with a fifth-place showing in the women's race. She was the only U.S skier to make it to the finals