HAFJELL (Dagbladet): The much talked about and unusual the congestion to Therese Johaug left clear traces in the world’s best cross-country skier.
In fact, such clear traces that the 32-year-old from Dalsbygda could hardly believe her own eyes when she looked down at her legs in the wake of her gradually well-known mountain holiday in beautiful and spectacular surroundings in Lofoten.
Johaug tells Dagbladet that her thigh muscles swelled up enormously after the solid mountain trip, which was followed by an even longer car trip – with a sitting position that is not ideal for recovery and blood flow.
– We went on a 6-7 hour trip the last day, then we bathed the sea and threw ourselves in the car and took the ferry over to Bodø and drove 20 hours at night, where we almost did not sleep, Johaug tells Dagbladet and further describes how the congestion manifested on her body:
– I was so swollen in the legs that I did not see my kneecaps. I had so much fluid in my whole body. It was a total reaction, an overload, you might say.
Three liters of fluid in the legs
Johaug’s thighs were filled with unnatural amounts of fluid, she says.
– I had so much fluid in my body. I had almost three liters of extra fluid in my legs when I got home, says the 32-year-old to Dagbladet.
– What were you thinking then?
– Fy father, I thought. I felt it properly in my legs, Johaug answers.
– It is unusual when you are used to having a body that listens and plays on teams. Suddenly you are in a situation where you do not know your body.
- You can see Johaug’s reaction in the video at the top of the case.
– I did not feel tip top when I went on to Sandnes either. I went to competitions there and continued to train, but it never got better. Finally I had to put my foot down. I knew this would not change in a day, she says.
Heidi Weng got herself backwards when a tree blew over the end during the training session at Hafjell. Watch the first episode of the Dagbladet TV series «The Ski Girls« here:
