Klæbo falls in dramatic Drammen sprints as Evensen and Sundling win

Cross-country ski great Johannes Høsflot Klæbo fell in a four-man collision during the Drammen World Cup sprint semi-finals on Thursday to miss out on a triumphant victory in front of his home fans in Norway.

He was helped to his feet and walked gingerly to the finish while clutching his head following the tumble, which followed a fall by Ben Ogden who brought down three others.

Norwegian Ansgar Evensen, with a maiden World Cup victory, and Sweden's Jonna Sundling won thrilling sprint finals through the streets of the southern Norwegian city as dusk took hold.

The traditional event in the classic style, with fans lining the route of artificial snow, was set to be made all the more special by Klæbo's appearance - after he had hinted he might have to skip the race due to fitness worries.

The sport's icon, who won all six golds on offer at Milan/Cortina last month to help become the best Winter Olympian of all-time, has already wrapped up a sixth overall World Cup title and easily won his quarter-final.

But drama followed next up and there is now a question mark over his status for Saturday's 50 kilometre home mass start at Oslo's famed Holmenkollen, which returns after a one-year absence.

Women's World Cup leader Jessie Diggins failed to reach the sprint final but will hope to pick up enough points in the remaining four events this season to seal her fourth overall title.

There were several falls on the tricky course across the sexes. One tumble involved five skiers in the women's quarter-finals. Linn Svahn recovered from the fall to finish second in the heat but ended up going out in the semis like Diggins.

Another lanky freshman wing is making his mark at the Big 12 tournament. It has some seeing double.

One of racing's most successful trainers has threatened not to bring horses to Cheltenham Festival in future over concerns about the quality of the ground.

The Willie Mullins-trained Fact To File was withdrawn shortly before Thursday's feature race, the Ryanair Chase, as her team did not think the ground was soft enough.

Fact To File was favourite in the betting markets for the race, having won the event at Cheltenham last year.

But Mullins said they decided not to race this year as they felt the ground was too hard and that promises from Cheltenham organisers to water the course had not been kept, putting his horse's safety at risk.

"We think the ground is not good enough for the type of individual we are buying, we are trying to race. If the ground is like this, we are not going to bring them," Mullins told Racing TV.

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"We were promised watering, and I'm not sure that has been done so I am a little annoyed about that. I know the forecast has not been kind, but few people complain about too much rain.

"The conditions suit some horses, but for the big favourites we would like it softer."

Jon Pullin, clerk of the course at Cheltenham Racecourse, said they had watered the majority of the ground on Wednesday evening.

Pullin told BBC Sport: "After racing concluded on Wednesday, selective watering took place on the majority of the new course to maintain the going description of Good, Good to Soft in places.

"Our focus is on producing safe jumping ground for all our participants and that has been provided today."

Two horses died on the opening two days of the 2026 Festival – Hansard on Tuesday, then HMS Seahorse on Wednesday - but all came home safe on Thursday.

Mullins is the most successful trainer in the history of Cheltenham, having saddled 118 winners. Regarded as the most prominent trainer in Ireland, he has also trained the last two winners of the Grand National.

Five Mullins-trained horses won on the opening two days of the Festival, but none on day three.

The 69-year-old said he had concerns about the ground from early on Thursday, with his fears confirmed as the day continued.

Mullins added: "I talked with JP [McManus, Fact To File's owner], and said, these horses are too difficult to acquire.

"We waited all day for rain that was half-promised, so we made the decision not to run."

Fact To File was the only horse Mullins withdrew on Thursday, with another 15 of his trainees running.

Shortly before Fact To File's withdrawal, racing fans saw 40-1 shot White Noise win the Mares' Novices' Hurdle and the Stayers' Hurdle was taken by Home By The Lee, another long-priced victor at 33-1.

Mullins himself directly suffered at the hands of an outsider in the final race of the day, as his Road To Home was beaten by a nose by 22-1 shot Ask Brewster in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap.

Heavy rain had been forecast at Cheltenham on Thursday morning, but while there was some wind and rain it was less than expected and the going was good for the Ryanair Chase.

It was eventually won by Heart Wood, which beat Jonbon – the new favourite following the absence of Fact Or File – by several lengths.

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Wide receiver is becoming a more likely target for the Rams early in the draft with each passing day. Los Angeles already addressed corner and safety, but the team could still use a No. 3 receiver.

Makai Lemon is one of the top prospects in the class and makes sense as a target for the Rams in Round 1. General manager Les Snead was in attendance for USC’s pro day on Thursday, checking out Lemon’s workout with his fellow Trojans teammates.

We obviously don’t know who Snead was specifically scouting, as he might just be checking out everyone who’s draft eligible for USC, but Lemon is a logical target, as is fellow wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane.

For those wondering, Rams GM Les Snead is here at USC Pro Day ✌️@RLAndersonLAFB@LAFBNetworkhttps://t.co/VCakOzsfmYpic.twitter.com/FHVHMgHqKN

— Ryan Dyrud (@RyanDyrudLAFB) March 12, 2026

Les Snead drooling 🤤😂 pic.twitter.com/4Q4SRFHYTt

— Rams Tapes 🇵🇷 (@RamsTapes) March 12, 2026

You can see another member of the Rams' staff timing 40-yard dashes at the finish line, too. Lemon reportedly ran times in the range of 4.48 and 4.53, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic.

USC WR Makai Lemon ran his 40-yard dash for NFL scouts this morning.

4.48 to 4.53 range (according to multiple scouts in attendance)

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 12, 2026

He's not an overly gifted athlete but he's tough after the catch and has strong hands, hauling in just about everything thrown his way. As one of the top receivers in the class, he may not make it to No. 13 overall, so if the Rams want him, they might have to trade up.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: LA Rams' Les Snead checking out top WR prospect at USC pro day

The RedHawks suffered their first loss of the season, which could now give the MAC two Big Dance bids