The 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist earned a dominant victory as she powered round the course in a time of 25mins 08.8secs, a full 41 seconds ahead of nearest competitor Jessica Diggins of America.

Diggins' teammate Caitlin Gregg came through to bag a surprise bronze but the day belonged to the Swede, who mastered both the tricky weather and the difficult course to claim an emphatic win in an event organised by the International Ski Federation. 

Kalla's compatriot Maria Rydqvist narrowly missed out on a place on the podium as she finished fourth, 0.90 seconds adrift of Gregg in the bronze medal position.

"I can hardly believe it," the winner said.

"It really is a dream come true.

"To become world champion in this event on my home ground, it really means a lot to me.

"It was tough out there on the tracks today and you had to go all in all the way."

American duo Jessica Diggins right and Caitlin Gregg claimed surprise places on the podium behind the dominant Kalla ©Getty Images



It also proved to be a successful outing for the American duo of Diggins and Gregg, who never looked like challenging the imperious Kalla but they nonetheless clinched rare podium spots.

"It is absolutely incredible," Diggins said.

"We haven't taken any individual medals for years and we get two on the same day.

"It is completely crazy!

"I've done the race of a lifetime and had amazing skis."

The result gave Kalla, who hails from Tärendö, another title to add to her Olympic cross country gold from Vancouver 2010 ,as well as her relay crown she won at Sochi.

Kalla tasted success at the World Championships as she won gold in the sprint relay at the 2011 event together with Ida Ingemarsdotter.

The competition, which has already seen more than 200,000 spectators in attendance, continues tomorrow with the men's freestyle cross country 15km race.

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