Bulgaria's Stanimir Belomazhev was quickest in the men's 10km qualifier, posting a time of 23min 56.8sec to finish ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Mladen Plakalovic in 24:13.4, and Hungary's Adam Konya in 24:28.2.

In the women's 5km, China's Chi Chunxue crossed the line in 13:33.8 to finish 49.3 seconds clear of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Tanja Karisik in second and a further 18.2 in front of Australia's Casey Wright in third. 

The men and women's cross-country sprint events are scheduled to take place tomorrow, after which a further 19 medal competitions will be decided before the 12-day Championships end on March 1.

The Championships, which will see more than 700 athletes compete, includes 12 medal events in cross country, five in ski jumping and four in Nordic Combined.

All 21 medal competitions, in addition to the qualification events, will be held at the newly renovated Lugnet Arena.

The medal ceremonies will be staged each evening in downtown Falun, alongside a line-up of entertainment. 

Bulgaria's Stanimir Belomazhev was the fastest qualifier in the men's 10km cross country event ©Getty Images




Falun was given hosting rights to the Championships in June 2010, having staged the World Ski Championships in 1954, 1974 and 1993.

"From the day Falun was awarded these World Championships nearly five years ago, they have had the motto: 'Beyond Expectations'" said Gian-Franco Kasper, President of the International Ski Federation (FIS).

"In the lead-up they have more than lived up to their mantra, from infrastructure to exciting new technology that will bring spectators closer to the action."

A total of 59 nations are set to take part at the Championships, including a record 58 nations in cross country.

Men's ski jumping will feature 25 different nations, while both ladies' ski jumping and Nordic Combined have entries from 16 nations.

"Finally we are about to start the World Championships 2015," said Sven von Holst, chief executive of the Local Organising Committee.

"We have been preparing for four-and-a-half years and are really happy to present very modernised venues for ski jumping, cross country skiing and Nordic Combined."

China's Chi Chunxue was quickest in the women's 5km cross country event ©Getty Images



He added: "There is a huge interest to visit the Championships.

"The ticket sales has surpassed 175,000 tickets.

"There will be many spectacular culture events in the Falun city centre as well.

"We are definitely ready for the great ski festival."

According to the European Broadcast Union, the media and marketing rights holder, the World Championships will be broadcast in more than 20 countries with nearly 800 representatives across television, print and online media present on site in Falun.

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