PHOTO: Bildbyrån + SVT
Emma Johansson is one of Swedish sports’ greatest.
But the cycling icon has not always received the great attention she deserves.
That’s why it’s so beautiful to see her powerful tribute film in “Master of Masters”.
Cycling rarely gets the big headlines in Swedish sports. But Emma Johansson is truly an admirable legend who deserves all the accolades.
Johansson’s career
The 40-year-old is one of the participants in this year’s season of the SVT program “Master of Masters”. And in the third episode, she gets all the limelight when it’s time for the Swedish Olympic hero’s very own tribute film about her career.
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Then the presenter picks Mike Leijnegard brought forth his finest superlative from his vocabulary to describe Emma’s greatness.
– Then the time has come for a unique, Swedish athlete. Emma Johansson is the only Swedish woman to have won an Olympic medal in cycling. During her career of just over ten years at the absolute top of the world, she won two Olympic silvers, was ranked world number one, won five WC medals and a whopping 14 SM golds. To me, you are the thread from which legends are woven, he says in Master of Masters.
Became “Silver-Emma”
Johansson became “Silver-Emma” with the entire Swedish people after her big breakthrough with the brilliant Olympic silver in Beijing 2008. It was the start of a truly fantastic career which was then crowned with another Olympic silver in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
– Emma Johansson’s achievement is fantastic. As the only Swede, she has now won her second Olympic silver in cycling. With that, she is Sweden’s most successful female cyclist of all time, says Leijnegard in SVT.
– I never dreamed of winning Olympic or World Cup medals when I was little. For me, the point was to discover something different, something more than the forests in Norrland. I wanted to discover and see other things and sports became the perfect reason to get out, she says herself about her career.
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The beautiful tribute film to Emma Johansson is so incredibly well-deserved and important to give a true Swedish sports hero the right appreciation. And also a sport that deserves to be highlighted more.
– Powerful, so awesome, say the other participants after the end of the film.
– Yes, but it is very impressive of Emma. Two medals at the Olympics is something that you yourself have only dreamed of. I am mighty impressed, says the wrestler Jimmy Samuelsson.
– The level she has maintained and the history of Swedish cycling – it is clear that she is one of the greatest in Swedish sports. It was cool to see that trip, says Joel Lundqvist.
READ MORE: Sebastian Larsson is moved to tears in Master of Masters – after the beautiful and emotional tribute: “I’m very proud”
The two-time Olympic silver medalist can look back on his career with pride.
– I feel very proud of what I have managed to achieve. I have so much to thank my career for and so many people to thank for my career. So much good that has come out of what I have done in hockey.
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