Frida Karlsson has proven that she is a championship skier.
She made her debut at the World Championships in Seefeld as a 19-year-old in 2019 and came home with gold in the relay, silver in the ten-kilometer classic and bronze in the three-mile race.
In the WC in Oberstdorf 2021, the harvest was silver in the skiathlon and ten kilometers freestyle and bronze in the three miles.
When asked what characterizes a championship skier, she has a straight answer.
– Mental strength. Championships is my best branch, I am very happy with my two senior championships, says Karlsson with a smile.
There is no doubt that she has the mental strength.
It was like a revenge when I came back after the shutdown, as the icing on the cake.
But Frida Karlsson also has had difficulty setting boundaries, which led to her being suspended from the competition due to health problems.
– It is from the setbacks and challenges that I have learned the most and perhaps developed the most. I’m on my way up again if I’ve been down a turn and felt it, I’m back on the track, says Karlsson.
She collects both medals and memories and believes that they usually belong together.
– But my best memory may not be medals but the victory in Holmenkollen.
At the end of 2019, she was banned from competing as her test values did not reach the Swedish Ski Association’s health criteria.
After a two-month break, she was back in the World Cup and in March 2020 she took her first World Cup victory when she won the three-mile in Holmenkollen after a second battle with the Norwegian big favorite Therese Johaug.
– It was like a revenge when I came back after the shutdown, as the icing on the cake.
– At the end of November, the World Cup circus kicks off competitions in Ruka. Not the most important of the year. “I will sit quietly in the boat,” says Frida Karlsson.
Photo: Tomi Hänninen / Bildbyrån
She does not see the World Cup premiere in Finnish Ruka at the end of November as a particularly important competition.
– I do not want to see it become like a war all the way, I will sit a little calm in the boat. It is not the case that in Ruka it slams, now the season starts. I will not let go so much in training but let the competitions do their thing. I usually feel good about competing a lot and like to compete in shape. I would rather have a calm and stable upswing so I am in mental and physical top shape when it comes.
Although the training is sometimes monotonous, she does not want the World Cup to start earlier than the end of November.
– I’m happy for the time I have left. I have a lot left that I want to file a little on before I put on the number tag. You can always make the ride a little more economical. I will focus more on my own performance at the beginning of the season, if I perform as well as I can I will fight for podium places.
Last winter, Frida Karlsson struggled with foot problems that caused her feet and bones to cramp.
– It’s good now. I have worked really hard with rehab every morning before the training and started with inserts in all shoes and seen great development in my balance which also benefits the technique.
– Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson during a training competition in Östersund in December last year.
Photo: Erik Mårtensson / Bildbyrån
Coach Stefan Thomson tells how the national team riders encourage each other. The distance stars Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson, who are both from Sollefteå, are a good example of this.
– Ebba means a lot. When we get to the tough workouts and maybe no one else joins in, we encourage each other. Unlike Norway, where perhaps Therese Johaug travels alone, we have each other and can be helped to keep pace and push each other to the next limit, says Frida Karlsson.
She sees the struggle to be first on the pass as a carrot.
– It means that you may be able to take another percent of what is in the body when that is the purpose.
Frida Karlsson won the Swedish premiere in Bruksvallarna last year. On Friday, the cross-country skiing season starts with a sprint in Gällivare, the distance races are decided on Saturday and Sunday.
– In terms of results, the competitions are not important at all. If I feel that I am physically present in terms of performance, I will not care if I am first or second.
In February, the Olympic Games in Beijing await and the chance to expand the medal harvest.
– It is clear that you have a lot of Olympics in mind, but right now I focus on the training I have to do and then a fun season awaits, I hope.
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