The Swedish sprint phenomenon has put the dark times behind it.
It took almost two years – but just before Christmas, Linn Svahn was back on the ski track again after her shoulder injury.
And then things progressed quickly for Svahn – as usual.
She won the sprint relay already during her first World Cup weekend, joined the WC squad, and left the championship in Planica with, among other things, two fourth places.
But what happened next?…
– It just really narrowed down. I got really sick, says Linn Svahn.
We are standing on the steps outside a hotel in Kalix. This is where the ski championship ends with a sprint relay today, Friday, and three miles for the ladies on Sunday. Everything is broadcast on Expressen, for everyone with a Premium Max account.
Linn Svahn: “It’s really cool”
Linn Svahn is, to put it mildly, pleased to be here. The flu that struck a week after the WC looked for a while to end her entire season prematurely.
– I was down for a count for two weeks. And it was heavy, immediately in the days after the World Cup I otherwise felt that the form just got better and better.
But just in time for the SM final, Linn Svahn is back. And in Kalix, something extremely special already awaits in the sprint relay.
– I have done everything to recover from this. Because I’m going to run a sprint relay with my little sister, says Linn Svahn and smiles.
More precisely Alva Svahn, 18. Newly crowned Swedish junior sprint champion.
– This is really cool. I think relays in general are the ultimate form of competition – when you’re not just racing for yourself, but also for someone else.
Linn Svahn: “A new dimension”
– And when you now get to drive for your little sister… then it becomes another dimension. I almost pinched my arm during the day.
Linn Svahn continues:
– The whole experience becomes something else. It’s so cool that Alva is so young now that we can form a team together. This is going to be crazy.
So what is the goal of the Svahn sisters?
– I have told Alva that above all she wants to have fun – then I will solve everything else (laugh). But no, I think we are a strong team. But getting to the final is the first goal.
Then she says:
– But a sprint relay on Swedish soil is like a World Cup race. So maybe we shouldn’t be too cocky.
The broadcasts from the SM in Kalix start at 11.30 on Friday with the semi-finals in the sprint relay.
