She was part of the team that won relay gold during the WC 2019.
But afterwards, Charlotte Kalla was annoyed – for the words in the media.
– It irritates me enormously, she says.
Charlotte Kalla is one of our greatest winter athletes of all time, and there was therefore great uproar when she announced earlier in the year that she was ending her career. Kalla has won many Olympic medals, and been the face of Swedish cross-country skiing.
Anger during the World Cup
But during her last year as an active person, the results often failed, which led to questions about when her career would actually be over. Kalla was clear that she did not like the question, especially whether it would be her last Olympics and the like.
In Sommar in P1, Kalla talks about her unknown anger after the WC in Seefeld 2019, which was a success for Sweden. Among other things, they took a historic relay gold, and Frida Karlsson got her big breakthrough. And Kalla was highlighted as a key behind.
– During the WC in Seefeld 2019, many wanted to pay tribute to me and highlight the importance I had for the re-growth in Swedish women’s skiing. It irritates me enormously because I was not at all finished with my investment and exploration of how good I can become. I wanted to own the question of when it’s time to sum up my career. When you are fed with that question often enough, it is easy for it to become your truth, says Kalla in the program, according to Aftonbladet.
“Maybe not quite sure?”
Charlotte Kalla also tells in the program about when the decision came: In the middle of the Winter Olympics.
– The jump is the last thing that leaves one, but the flow I longed to get out on the ski track never came. My last Olympic race is the heaviest I have experienced at a championship, says Charlotte Kalla.
But it was not entirely without a certain hesitation. Kalla says that there were many thoughts in his head.
– I may not be completely sure? What if I regret it? But long before I put my head on the pillow that starry night in March, I knew what I wanted. Curiosity about life outside of elite sports outweighed. One of the most important decisions of my life was made. I woke up early that Sunday and waited impatiently for my partner to wake up. It felt irritating but very good to say it out loud for the first time.
READ MORE: Peter Forsberg’s senseless tribute to Gabriel Landeskog – does not hold back after the NHL title: “Always 100 percent”