PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Calle Halfvarsson has never won an individual WC medal.
Now the Swede is making an absolutely decisive decision ahead of this year’s Ski World Championships.
– Now I have a slightly different mindset, even if I’m not going to do it like crazy, he says in an interview with Viaplay Vinter.
It has been a few really tough years for Calle Halfvarsson now. The last championship medal came as long ago as 2017 and this spring he took his first podium at the World Cup after a four-year drought.
Halfvarsson in the WC
But that podium place in Falun in the spring of 2022 has really turned the career around for the 33-year-old, who has now found his confidence and form again. The current season has been really good for Halfvarsson, impressing especially in the sprint.
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So far there have been two podiums at the World Cup with a third place in Beitostölen and a second place in Val di Fiemme. Therefore, the Swedish veteran has high hopes for this year’s ski WC in Planica and the dream is alive to take the very first individual WC medal of his career.
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Calle’s new arrangement
But for the championship in Slovenia, Halfvarsson has chosen a different approach than for previous championships.
– After the Olympics last year, I went home to my home ground and skipped some competitions there at the end to start with quite a lot of training before Falun and got in good shape for it. That’s when I realized that I can probably train quite a lot leading up to the competitions instead of thinking that I should rest in shape. In previous years, it has become a bit that you have to rest the last weeks and take it very easy before the championships, and then I have been in good shape before. But I think I’ve become a bit lethargic and the muscles have gone into rest and almost thought the season was over, he says in an interview with Viaplay Vinter, see it below.
– Now I have a slightly different mindset, even if I’m not going to train like crazy. But I will train more than I did before. It’s been a few years that I’ve failed in championships, I feel like I need to make changes to succeed.
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Calle Halfvarsson has won two World Cup silvers and one World Cup bronze in the relay during his career. But no individual medal in either the WC or the Olympics for him.
– It would of course be very nice to win a medal. But now I’m just thinking about entering the championship well and getting in good shape, not aiming so much for a medal. So we’ll see if it’s enough for a medal or not. I see the sprint as a great chance for a medal if everything goes well and you have to have a bit of luck along the way as well. But it’s a classic sprint this year and I feel safe with that, he says in the TV interview.
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For the first time in a long time, it feels like the Swedish men’s skiers can seriously assert themselves in a championship. And it is Halfvarsson who is one of those who will take on the fight against the Norwegian dominants.
– I feel quite confident with myself and my training, with what I have done. Now I trust what I’m going to do and then we’ll see if it’s enough all the way, he says before the WC.
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