– That way it was probably easier with my generation, she continues.
Being the veteran of the group has its pros and cons. Something that Olympic and World Cup gold medalist Charlotte Kalla, who ended her skiing career in the spring of 2022, got to experience in her last active years.
She had longed for sparring even during the training periods, and looked forward to more successful female Swedish cross-country skiers introducing themselves.
– We had indeed had many sprinters who performed, but on the distance side I felt quite alone, says Kalla.
Once it happened however, it didn’t turn out quite as she had hoped.
– What was sad was that my development did not go at the same pace as Ebba’s (Andersson), Frida’s (Karlsson) and others who came from below on the distance side. So it didn’t feel like they were catching up to me, but rather like they were speeding past me.
How did you handle it?
– Then and there I had quite a lot to think about. After being in the best shape of my life during the Olympics in Pyeongchang, I was hoping to switch gears, but instead I backed down. And while I was trying to get my form right in the 2018/19 season, Frida and Ebba came storming.
– Had I been able to maintain the level I had the season before, it would have been one thing if they had caught up – or pulled back a bit. But when my performance was worse than before, it led to frustration.
Charlotte Kalla had longed for more talented female distance skiers to come forward, but when it happened, it didn’t turn out quite as she had imagined. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT
With a new one national team generation also brought a new way of thinking. Something that Charlotte Kalla takes up in the autobiography “Shame on those who give”, which she has written together with DN’s sports columnist Johan Esk.
How did their ways of finding their place in the national team group differ?
– For me, it was important to fit in and belong to the community. It included being a bit malleable and feeling secure in the existing template. As I experience it, the younger generation does not have that need. They understand that it is up to them to make their dreams come true, and that it requires certain things to fall into place.
In the book, Kalla describes, among other things, Linn Svahn, who is twelve years younger, as a rebel.
“At the first warm-up meeting as a regular in the senior national team, Linn made it clear that she did not want to train according to the team’s plans.”
Before last season, Linn Svahn chose to leave the national team’s training group. A few days later, the news came that Frida Karlsson and Maja Dahlqvist would also go their separate ways.
However, their decision was nothing new or rebellious. Rather, Svahn, Karlsson and Dahlqvist thus followed in the veteran Kalla’s footsteps. Because although Charlotte Kalla’s initial approach to the national team was different from that of the heirs, she eventually also chose to go her own way.
– Yes, in that I left the national team, because I wanted my personal trainer with me and the training did not suit me, I have been involved and contributed to the fact that the national team is not the only way, says Kalla, who was away from the group for two year (2016–2018).
– At the same time, the national team must naturally be where you want to spend your training year. It must be so attractive – with everything from the camp locations and the training plan to leaders and resource persons – that it is where you want to be.
At the same time that Charlotte Kalla was searching for form in the 2018–2019 season, Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson passed her by. Photo: Tore Meek/TT
Shouldn’t your defection have served as a signal to unions and leaders that the winds of change have begun to blow?
– It takes a great deal of patience to get us – who can sometimes be single-tracked and not always able to look up – to see the bigger perspective. So I understand that it is not easy to weld together a group with many strong wills, replies Charlotte Kalla.
– In the end, it’s about continuously working with core value issues, and being able to put up a bloody mess if that’s what it takes for everyone to be involved. It is not enough to present a nice document at the beginning of May, but it is something that must be implemented and actively worked on throughout the year.
This week, the cross-country skiing season kicks off with the Swedish premiere in Gällivare. This will be the second season since Charlotte Kalla ended her elite career, and the 36-year-old is enjoying her new life. Photo: Mats Andersson
When the ski season now kicking off with the Swedish premiere in Gällivare this week, the trio Linn Svahn, Frida Karlsson and Maja Dahlqvist are back in the national team.
This year there is no championship to strive for, but the big goals are the World Cup and the Tour de Ski, where Frida Karlsson will try to defend the final victory.
This is the second season Kalla follows as a spectator.
Can you miss the time being active?
– When you knew that you have a good training period behind you, the feeling that it is soon time to let it loose in the first competitive race of the season was very intense. So it’s an exciting time ahead of them, says Charlotte Kalla.
– At the same time, I also remember how I could suffer several weeks in advance when there was a max test on the schedule in the training schedule for October. I don’t miss that part, she continues with a laugh.
Facts. The Swedish premiere in cross-country skiing in Gällivare
Friday 17 November
Sprint men and women (classic), prologue 8.45, final session 11.20
Saturday 18 November
Men’s 10 km (classic, interval start) 11.05
Ladies 10 km (classic, interval start) 12.05
Sunday 19 November
Men’s 10 km (freestyle, interval start) 10.50
Ladies 10 km (freestyle, interval start) 12.05
All competitions are broadcast on SVT
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2023-11-14 16:57:59
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