After the double Olympic gold in Italy, where one of the victories came in the skiathlon, expectations for Frida Karlsson were high before the race. At the Olympics, Karlsson won by 51 seconds.
However, the upload could have been better. Karlsson had to sit out the final race of the Olympics, the five-mile race, and has just recovered from a feverish illness.
It may have been the consequences that left their mark when there was a long sprint battle at the restart of the World Championships in Falun on Sunday. Karlsson had the best position at the front of the race, but was overtaken by both Weng and Diggins in the final meters.
– It was really long above expectations to be honest. I sew it together well. “I may not have achieved the recovery I had two weeks ago, but I still feel like I can be happy,” Karlsson said on Viaplay’s show.
Things got difficult when Heidi Weng seemed to have a lot of pressure in her legs towards the end of the race.
– From the moment Heidi sets off with a monstrous idiot there on “Murder Hill”, all you have to do is dig deep and fight, says Karlsson and continues:
– She was very strong today, she should have.
Third place is Karlsson’s second World Cup podium finish this season.
Olympic distance silver medalist Ebba Andersson was not in the starting field. She had to cancel because of a cold.
Linn Svahn, who took home Victory in the sprint on Saturday became the second-best Swede in fourth place. Moa Ilar came eighth and Maja Dahlqvist twelfth.
– It was fun. I checked a lot of skis before the race. I watched “Vasan” and saw my friend (Emilie Fleten) win. There was some motivation, says Linn Svahn.
Svahn had to catch up with winner Heidi Weng after the race.
– I said to Heidi: “Why did you have to sprint on the killer hill?” Someone please.
The Swedish cross-country women have a chance for revenge next weekend. The World Championships then continue in Lahtis, Finland.
