PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Today, they are two of the world’s best skiers.
But already at a young age, the icon Gunde Svan saw the great potential.
And praised young Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson to the skies.
Swedish cross-country skiing’s great pride is called Gunde Swan. Few other skiers have been as successful and popular as the good Gunde.
The Gunde icon
It was an incredible four Olympic golds and seven World Cup golds for the Swedish legend who then continued to the television industry after the active skiing career. Today, he is one of Sweden’s most recognized and popular personalities.
The article continues after the picture.
But on the ski slopes, Svan has no worthy heir other than in today’s men’s national team. It looks significantly better on the women’s side, which has reaped great success for several years now and where superstars such as Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson made a big success at the last skiing WC.
READ MORE: Gunde Svan can only laugh out loud when Ingemar Stenmark reveals the sickest thing about his career: “Huh!?”
Frida & Ebba
Already in 2019, Gunde Svan could see into the future and predict a brilliant future for young Frida and Ebba, who were then only 19 and 21 years old. Then the skiing icon sensed a new golden generation of female skiers.
– It has exploded. If you talk to my wife (Marie Svan, former national team skater) who was there when I, (Thomas) Wassberg and (Torgny) Mogren were doing it, and then there was so little space at your place for the girls, Gunde Svan told the news agency TT 2019 and aimed at Swedish media coverage.
– So take care and write about the girls now, because it can change again.
The article continues after the picture.
Svan was actually surprised by the great talents Karlsson and Andersson’s capacity at such a young age and that Swedish skiing produced two such sharp skiers at the same time.
– You don’t get many Ebbor and Fridor, people who take that step so early. On the men’s side, it hasn’t happened since Per Elofsson that someone steps in from junior to senior directly. It is very unusual. And that we in little Sweden, with so few who ski, should be able to produce like the Norwegians, who are born with their skis on, it’s more difficult, he said in a beautiful tribute.
READ MORE: The cheeky challenge to Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson – most unexpected duel: “Would have been so much fun”
Four years later, Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson have salvaged an Olympic silver, two Olympic bronze, four WC gold, six WC silver and eight WC bronze together. While the entire men’s national team together only managed a single WC bronze from William Poromaa lately.
– We should not believe that we can deliver at that level on the men’s and women’s side at the same time. After all, there will be a gap behind Johan (Olsson) and Marcus (Hellner) directly. I know what I thought myself when Wassberg quit after Calgary already: “Shit, what will the motivation and drive be now then?” And I know Mogren has said he felt the same when I quit. Now they have no one to take all that and show the way, Gunde Svan said in the interview in 2019.
Do you agree with Gunde Svan here? Share the article and have your say!