Perry had won France’s only medals at the Lillehammer 2026 Junior and U23 FIS World Ski Championships, finishing third in the 20km Mass Start Free as well as in the 10km Interval Start Classic.
After claiming her second bronze medal on Saturday, the 21-year-old said that ”I hope that the team are in good shape and I think we can do the best and take the first place.” On Sunday, France showed that they were not only in good shape, but in a good mood.
”All of the team has been in a very jokey spirit, so we’ve been laughing all the time, and that was key for a good race and a good place,” Perry said.
Norway, fielding a team of Casper Kvam Grindhagen, Eva Ingebrigtsen, Lars Michael Saab Bjertnaes and Oline Vestad, had led the race for most of the 20km. When Bjertnaes handed over to Vestad with 5km left to race, Finland were in second place, 7.9 seconds behind the leaders, with France in bronze-medal position, 14.8 seconds back. Then Tirloy came into the picture and turned the race around.