Facts: Calle Halfvarsson
Born: March 17, 1989 (age 33).
Club: Sågmyra SK.
Championship achievements: WC: two relay silvers (2013 and 2015) and one relay bronze (2017). Best individual results: 6th in 50 kilometer freestyle in Seefeld 2019, 6th in skiathlon in Falun 2015, 6th in 15 kilometer freestyle in Val di Fiemme 2013. Olympics: 4th in sprint relay, 5th in relay (both 2018 ). 9th best individual, in 15 kilometer freestyle in Pyeongchang 2018.
Achievements in the World Cup: 18 individual podium places, of which three victories, two in sprint and one in 10 kilometer freestyle. A sprint relay victory.
Debut in the World Cup: March 18, 2009 (39th in the castle sprint in Stockholm).
A career can get a boost in different ways. It could be that you train more, harder or just differently. Or that you change coaches.
It can also be something that has nothing to do with sports at all.
Last year Casper-Lo came into the world, and with that most things changed for Calle Halfvarsson.
On location in Slovenia, the 33-year-old, relatively new father, radiates a calmness that has rarely been seen in him. It also means that he has high hopes for both Thursday’s opening sprint and Friday’s skiathlon.
— I don’t know, it feels like I’m not as excited about this championship. Now I feel like I should have fun here on site and not take it so damn seriously. Rather have fun and drive with a relaxed feeling, then I think it can go further and better, says Halfvarsson, who is still chasing a first individual championship medal.
Pressed KlæboCalle Halfvarsson during a press meeting with the national ski team ahead of the World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia.
Already at the end of last year’s season, when he knew he was going to be a father, something came loose for the Swedish veteran. He ended the spring winter by taking his first individual podium in the World Cup in over three years (second in the 15 kilometer classic in Falun) and the following day he won a mixed sprint in pair with Jonna Sundling.
This winter he has continued to show good form. When he came second in the classic sprint in Val di Fiemme in January, he challenged Johannes Høsflot Klæbo himself, pushing the Norwegian all the way across the finish line.
Halfvarsson’s confidence has perhaps never been better.
— I will go into the sprint with the attitude that I can beat anyone. I do that in most distances if I have a good feeling. We have seen that Klæbo has been beaten this year, he is not impossible. He is next to impossible. But he is not impossible, says Halfvarsson.
A successful championship would be welcome after the last two upsets. Last year’s Olympics in Beijing was a real miscalculation for Halfvarsson, and at best he finished 26th in an individual race. It was still a big step forward if you compare it to the effort at the last WC, in Oberstdorf 2021.
Halfvarsson left Germany after competing in just one race – which he broke.
— It wasn’t a highlight. I probably only rode one stage, barely. And then I went home. There wasn’t much to talk about, says Halfvarsson.
“It was deplorable”
But not even a new pancake championship can make the mood crash this time, he asserts. It’s still important to perform, it’s just not as insanely important.
— Peking was miserable and Oberstdorf was also miserable. But even if it were to go badly here, I have a hard time seeing myself feeling the same way I did then. I always have him and her (partner Isabell) to come home to. Skiing is still important, it’s not like I think this is all crap and blah, skiing is really important, it’s my job and something I’m passionate about.
— So it is clear that I will be disappointed. But I’ll probably forget it pretty quickly when I get home and get to hug him.