ZHANGIJAKOU (VG) Ebba Andersson (24) was crushed after losing the bronze at three miles a couple of hundred meters before the finish. – It feels very unfair right now, said the crying Swede after his bitterest moment as a skier.
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Therese Johaug went in for superb gold at three miles, and Jessie Diggins had full control of the silver. It also looked like Ebba Andersson had on the bronze after walking alone for a long time.
But up the last hill, a few hundred meters before the finish, she was suddenly caught again. Andersson was “taken” by strong gusts of wind, while Kerttu Niskanen took the bronze and several blows past the Swede. Anderson ended up in 8th place and was crushed after the finish.
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– I tried to give what I had towards the goal, but am very surprised when they are suddenly up in the back at the bottom of the hill. It feels very unfair right now, Andersson says to Aftonbladet while the tears flow.
–– I really fought out there, and do not understand how they could come so quickly in the end. It is difficult to be someone when you have walked three miles here in these conditions and large parts on your own. A lot also came from the air going out of me mentally because… I really fought out there, she says and starts crying.
– Is this your bitterest moment as a skier?
– Absolutely, says Andersson who travels from Beijing with one medal, bronze in the relay.
Today, Jonna Sundling became the best Swede in 4th place.
The Norwegians were hurt by Andersson after the race. Therese Johaug said she felt sorry for Andersson. Lotta Udnes Weng thought the same.
– Ebba had deserved a medal. I can not imagine how awkward it is, says Udnes Weng to VG.
Ski legend Gunde Svan wonders if Andersson’s tactics of following Johaug in the beginning and opening tough was right.
– She has a mindset that she should take gold. She hangs on a little too long and becomes completely dumb, says Svan at Discovery.
SVT expert Mathias Fredriksson thinks the run-in was very dramatic.
– It’s extremely sour. I suffer with Ebba who does a great race for 29 kilometers, says Fredriksson.
Ebba Andersson thinks the colossal gusts of wind were erratic.
– It was only on the last hill I thought that now I should really just give what I have and keep away for this medal, but… Wins here and there one can not control, and I do not quite understand how they could get so fast the end, says Andersson.
She cried and cried as she went through a series of interviews.
Also for Charlotte Kalla (34), the 30-kilometer race was a nightmare. She finished in 35th place, 9.51 minutes behind Johaug.
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