PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Ebba Årsjö was a complete success in the para WC.
The 22-year-old won four straight WC golds and offered an Ingemar Stenmark performance.
– It’s so sick. But I don’t know if you should compare it to Stenmark, she says in an interview with Sportbibeln.
The last year has been absolutely incomparable for young people Ebba Årsjö. At the beginning of 2022, she first managed to win double gold in the Para World Championships and then followed it up with double gold in the Paralympics.
Won 4 WC golds
2023 has started even better with a real grand slam at this year’s Para WC. The 22-year-old, who was born with Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome, exceeded all expectations during the World Championship in Espot, Spain.
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Årsjö competed in four races and won all four to leave Spain with four World Cup gold medals around his neck. Now the Swede has landed at home in Norrköping again and can look back on her phenomenal efforts on the slopes.
– It’s so sick. I barely had time to breathe. We don’t usually celebrate much, but there was champagne at the hotel and then when I got home, the family had laid out champagne and a nice dinner. It was great fun, she says in an interview with Sportbibeln.
So it was World Cup gold in super-G, World Cup gold in super combination, World Cup gold in giant slalom and finally World Cup gold in slalom.
– In a way, it was not so much above expectations. I had high goals for myself before the championship. But I was most satisfied that I managed the long and difficult slalom, because then I just kept thinking: “Don’t do anything stupid”, says Ebba.
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Ebba’s own words
But it was about to go really badly in the giant slalom. When Årsjö was about to drive out in the second run and missed a gate but in what resembled a certain Ingemar Stenmark she managed to turn around, get back up the hill and finish the race with a margin of victory of almost five seconds.
– It was far too cheap a run out, so I gave in again and drove as fast as I could. I don’t know if you should compare it to Stenmark directly. But I really had to fight for it and it was nice that it went all the way, admits the 22-year-old.
Is it hard to be this superior, do you get criticized for it?
– Some are like “oh” when they see it, if you just look at the numbers and such. But very many are very kind, no jealousy or anything like that. If I had driven badly, many would have thought that there was a fault with the system. But now many are happy that someone is just pushing hard and lifting the sport. It’s actually very nice and I’m happy about that.
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The four gold medals Ebba Årsjö can now add to a very well-filled trophy room at home. Where the Swede has won a total of 8 major championship golds within the space of just one year and she tries to enjoy the success as much as she can.
– It’s hard to stop and feel, when you retire in a few years, you can probably look back on it better. But now I’m in the middle of it. I really try to enjoy myself, because I’m often way too self-critical. But this time (four WC golds) I really enjoyed it, the gold hero tells Sportbibeln.
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