PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Skiing queen Charlotte Kalla made a comeback when the Relay Vase was decided on Friday.
She says that the road ahead has been a mental challenge:
– I haven’t longed to return to the number plate, but the circumstances and this team made me stand up.
Charlotte Kalla is part of a sponsor-financed team together with the former alpine speed racer Hans Olssonthe Olympic gold medalist in hump Walter Wallbergthe freestyle skier Jesper Tjäder and former alpine star Maria Pietilä Holmner.
Kalla admits that the road to the start has meant that she wrestled with her new role as ski exerciser:
– At first I thought: “What, compete?” Damn, you have to wear a number plate just because it’s fun. Not to perform, but because you have something to aim for, says Charlotte Kalla.
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For many exercisers, it is a natural attitude. But Charlotte admits that she had to work on herself to fit into her new role as a skier.
Called a comeback
It will be the first time Charlotte Kalla wears a number tag since the end of April 2022, when she competed in her last ski competition as an elite skier.
– I have not done it on a running track and not in a ski competition, says Charlotte Kalla and continues:
– There are probably many who will continue to see me as an elite athlete when I put on the number tag. But the most important thing is that I remind myself that I myself am not an elite athlete. But I have a fairly high level of ambition as an exerciser. In connection with the Relay Vase, I want to feel tired and have a lot of laughter during the day.
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The words about Johaug
Charlotte Kalla notes at the same time that the Norwegian skiing star Therese Johaug started to feel like competing again after having children and getting married.
– It is very exciting to see what she lands in for decisions against the WC in Trondheim. It is difficult to know in advance how it will go. Becoming a mother is also a new situation for her. It feels like she had great joy in being able to compete. I have understood that it worked well for her to train, says Charlotte Kalla.
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She appreciates that there are skiers who become mothers and return to the competition track:
– Both Kikkan Randall and Marit Bjørgen came back after giving birth and were stronger than ever. It is super inspiring for today’s young girls that, both women and men, can continue the elite career and come out of parenthood even stronger.
You have become a mother, are you eager to come back?
– No not at all. What I’m going to do now feels like an appropriate level.
Have you considered becoming a leader or coach in skiing?
– It was great fun being Andreas Domeij’s sidekick and working with the juniors. Especially when I had my career just a few months away. Getting to meet juniors in connection with a few camps. But right now I’m so busy hanging out with Alvin (the son) that I don’t have a clear plan what I want to do in the future.
READ MORE: Surprising words in Norway about Therese Johaug’s comeback – which is the biggest insult to all Swedish women: “To those who wonder…”
Make: Self-employed.
Living: Sundsvall.
Age: 36.
Family: Partner Fredrik Karström, son Alvin.
Main merits: Olympics: Three gold, six silver. WC: Three gold, six silver, four bronze.
Current: Two years since the last skiing competition, she puts on the number tag and rides the first leg of the Relay Vase
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