Well putting aside her doping positive, all XC skiers have to cross train for 6-7 months anyway. So they are cycling, running, and roller skiing to get ready for snow season. You literally cannot become a world class XC skier without being a very good runner, because you won't be able to train hard enough in the off season otherwise. So there is some auto selection of who becomes a good skier. But at 46 kilos she is probably too small to be a good triathlete as she won't be able to push enough top line watts on the bike for non drafting and for drafting events, she will need to make front pack on the swim and if she can't she's too small on the bike to TT and bridge up to the top group.

So I suspect, she is only a good skier and a good runner. I don't think she has a chance as a triathlete unless she can make swim front pack. I doubt she is a good swimmer given the type of off season training skiers do.

My experience (as a vastly slower athlete than her!) has been been that cycling or really any high-volume cross-training involving legs is good for maintaining decent running fitness for shorter races, like 5k and maybe 10k at the longest, but beyond that your legs just aren't conditioned to mechanical pounding of 26 miles. So I think she'd have a lot of catching up to do there just as a cyclist would for the full distance.

My impression (similar to what Dev said above) is also that most elite triathletes have at least boarderline-elite-level talent in cycling (makes sense, it's the majority of the race) so remains to be seen what she can do there.

This run is super, super impressive.

I would consider Therese one of the top five XC skiers of all time. She is so dominant, especially in hilly courses. She's up there as the most aerobically fit athlete ever. She consistently wins uphill races by minutes.

Running a 31:40 10k solo on a track is something most runners couldn't do. It's especially impressive because XC skiers tend to avoid flat, fast running in training. The injury risk/reward is just too high. Most interval workouts are on hills because #1 XC skiing is an uphill sport #2 hill running doesn't bash the legs the way flat running does.

Note: Norwegian XC skiers do lots of uphill treadmill running intervals. 6x5 mins at 10% grade is common. It's a great workout because you can really stress your cardio system but not wreck your legs. I think triathletes and runners could benefit from including this workout. It's a great way to add intensity for injury prone runners.

Note2: XC skiing is still a time trial sport. Mass starts are popular but winning a TT is seen by hardcore xc ski fans as the true race. Johaug has way, way more experience than your average runner going solo against the clock. Johaug's mass start tactics suck (see seefeld 4x5k relay) but she's an all time great at fitness time trials and can dig so incredibly deep.

Lip Balm Johaug. Perhaps she should have used the sex excuse like the US boxer to get away with it.

Anyhow, Kris Freeman did pretty well last year at IM LP, 23rd overall, 4th in age group with Type 1 diabetes:

https://fasterskier.com/...%20unique%20stories.