Nystad and Sachenbacher-Stehle team up for gold (News Feature)

By John Bagratuni Feb 23, 2010, 2:30 GMT

Whistler - Claudia Nystad and Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle could not be more different, but there they were crying and then giggling together about Olympic team sprint gold in the dusk of their careers.

Here the bubbly Bavarian brunette Sachenbacher-Stehle, 29, who never shies away from a camera.

There the thoughtful Saxon blonde Nystad, 32, who studies graphics/design and recently discovered a love for architecture.

On Monday, they were also in different roles, but exactly that was the key to their biggest career success eight years after being part of Germany's gold-winning relay team.

'Evi is the motor, I am the sprinter,' said Nystad. 'She has to make speed in uphills, I have to focus on the last one (lap). It fitted exactly.'

The combination proved deadly for the favoured Swedes as Sachenbacher-Stehle stubbornly stayed on the heels of Charlotte Kalla and Nystad then attacked entering the sun-drenched stadium to storm to gold past Anna Haag.

'We felt this strong connection. We have had good races before,' said Nystad.

What brought them together was not simply the race, but a burning desire to shake off years of disappointment in what was - along with the relay - their last chance to top an Olympic podium.

Apart from relay silverware which also includes a 2003 world title and a team sprint silver at the 2007 worlds their big individual moments date a few years back.

Nystad won sprint silver at the 2001 worlds and a silver in the same event at the 2006 Olympics. Sachenbacher-Stehle also has two silvers, from the 2002 Olympics sprint and 2003 worlds pursuit.

Sachenbacher-Stehle has four World Cup race wins to Nystad's two. Sachenbacher came second in a sprint in January for her first podium since 2006, Nystad has not been on a World Cup podium since 2008.

'We always had this plan to medal again. We never lost this dream, and we were always working on it. It is amazing. You believe in this, and you work for this,' said Nystad.

'On such a nice day, dreams come true. We did everything right and at the right time.'