PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Swedish cross-country skiers are absolutely nobbed at the Sports Gala.
Despite the fact that the national skiing team did their best skiing WC ever.
Now Marie-Helene “Billan” Östlund airs her honest words after the huge criticism.
On Monday 22nd January, it is once again time for the Sports Gala to pay tribute to the Swedish sports year 2023. It was a fantastic blue-yellow year in several different sports and therefore the competition has been fierce for the nominated Swedes.
Skiing heroes are nobbed
But when the Sports Gala released its nominations at the end of last year, strong opinions were raised in ski Sweden when not a single cross-country skier was nominated for any award. Despite the fact that the national skiing team did their best ski WC of all time and salvaged a total of twelve medals.
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Jonna Sundling and Ebba Andersson won two World Cup golds each and Frida Karlsson won a WC medal in all four races she competed in and won the Tour de Ski in 2023. But still, all three were nominated in the categories “Female Athlete of the Year”, “Performance of the Year” and “Team of the Year”.
Refuses the Sports Gala
Then the Swedish national ski team responded by boycotting the entire Sports Gala and will therefore not appear during this year’s televised gala.
– We were upset. It’s not the biggest thing in the world, of course, but I think it’s strange, it’s strange. It’s like I said, what else can we do? We break the world record with twelve medals and get no nomination, said the national team manager Anders Byström in the podcast “Viaplay Winter Podcast”.
– What happens if we only take 10 medals at the next WC? Yes, then we really have no chance! No, strange. But I haven’t received any justification so I don’t know how they reason.
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The only category where a cross-country skier can be found is in the Jerring prize, where the WC queen Ebba Andersson still has a chance to win a prize at the Sports Gala. Now the Swedish skiing legend also surrenders Marie-Helene “Billan” Östlund into the discussion and vents his displeasure.
– It is strange. That they are not even nominated… It’s strange, I think. Then there is fierce competition and I have always found it difficult to compare different sports, says Billan to Sportbibeln.
– All medalists and those who do well in various sports are unique in themselves. That is very difficult, I think. But it’s strange that they haven’t even been nominated.
The WC gold hero from 1987 also does not believe in Andersson in the fight for the Jerring prize. There, two other WC gold heroes will be too difficult to get past in the competition.
Who will win the Jerring Prize this year?
– Yes, you… It’s quite tight in there. (Daniel) Ståhl and (Armand) Duplantis have the best chance, I think. I probably have to say one of them, she admits in the interview.
READ MORE: New announcement about the Sports Gala 2023 – they lead the whole gala: “Honored and grateful”
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