The Swedish women’s national team is starting the 2026 Olympic Games with a historically successful World Ski Championships. Six out of six possible gold medals.
Jonna Sundling won gold once in the individual and twice in the relay. It could have been even better. The bronze medal in the skiathlon was her first individual championship medal in a distance race.
I think you would have won if you hadn’t jumped in the last round.
– You’re not the first to say that. “It’s fun and hard to listen to,” Sundling says.
It’s always a stressful situation because you know everyone wants to leave as quickly as possible.
Should it even be gold? In the Olympic race, the changes in materials and muscle groups have to work. After 10 kilometers, halfway through the race, skis and technique are changed from classic to skate, short poles to longer.
– It’s always a stressful situation because you know everyone wants to leave as quickly as possible. The danger is that you become so stressed that you stress yourself out even more and then things rarely get better, says Sundling about the change.
– If something breaks with a binding, if a ski is about to break, or you use the wrong pole or lose a pole, then it becomes incredibly stressful. You definitely want to avoid that. The best times for me were when I arrived calmly, was with myself and took one step at a time. Although I felt like it was going slowly, it went quickly because I was able to follow the steps the way I intended.
Jonna Sundling starts thinking about these steps early on.
– In the last lap before the change I usually prepare myself mentally. It’s not often that we host skiathlons, and the transition is more complicated than you think. You just have to switch from classic skis to skate skis, but there are a few things to consider. There are sticks, skis and there are people and you have to enter the right field and have the skis and poles placed in a certain way.
Where do the others go? Which boxes do they come in?
A few hundred meters further The exchange begins, Jonna Sundling goes through in her head how and what steps should be taken so that the exchange runs as smoothly as possible.
– Then I look, who do I have around me? Where do the others go? Which boxes do they come in?
– When you enter the transition area, you can skate and then I take off my sticks and skate. I try to maintain the speed, get the heart rate down, and then adjust the speed depending on where I have my box and stuff. Sometimes it can be chaotic. It could be that you happen to be riding someone or that someone is riding you. Or that you have to brake for someone and then lose speed before you get into your own box.
– When you have reached your place, your box, you fold up and I have laid out my skis the way I want them. Often with space so I can get between the skis. And so I always set my two poles to the right so that I don’t mix up the classic and skate poles.
I do it at a pace that isn’t too hectic, I try to get into the feeling of driving.
When Jonna Sundling comes In the box, she still has the sticks in her hand to keep her from slipping or accidentally knocking off her skates.
– If it doesn’t snow much, I leave the bindings open and then take off the skis I’m wearing and put on the new ones. Then I put down the sticks I was skating with, grab the longer skate sticks and start skating while trying to put them on. I do it at a pace that isn’t too hectic, I try to get into the feeling of driving.
With the change in material, there should be a change in the muscle groups that are most stressed. When skating, the legs are put under significantly more strain.
– This change is also a bit of a “risky deal” if you push yourself too hard in the beginning when you start skating. Severe fatigue can occur in larger muscle groups such as the legs.
– So I usually take it very easy and try to get technical into skiing and then gradually increase the pressure and get faster once I get comfortable with skiing.
How important is the change?
– The seconds can really get messed up if you don’t adjust the change. In the end, it can make a big difference. Getting a flawless replacement can save you several seconds and a lot of energy. If you can go out in peace, don’t have to stress and don’t have to chase the trail, then you save a lot.
At the end of the Olympic courses there is a slope perfect for Sundling’s jump skates.
Jonna Sundling had a major mishap at an important skiathlon race. It was during the Junior World Championships in Fiemme Valley, where the Olympic Games will now be decided.
– I lost a pole after changing, didn’t attach it properly and had to turn back to get it. It was incredibly sad.
Since then, Jonna Sundling has adopted her patented way of making a decisive move. At the end of the Olympic courses there is a slope perfect for Sundling’s jump skates.
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