PHOTO: Bildbyrån
It is not easy to be the son of the pride of Swedish skiing, Gunde Svan.
Now the son Ferry Svan opens up about the relationship with the father.
– I actually had to ask for my first skis, he says to P3.
Not many people break on their own Gunde Swan when it comes to success in the tracks and popularity with the Swedes. He is truly one of the finest and most proud of Swedish skiing throughout the ages.
The Gunde Swan icon
The legend won an incredible 4 Olympic golds and 7 World Cup golds as well as the overall World Cup five times during his phenomenal career. After the years as the world’s best cross-country skier, Svan saddled up and became a highly regarded TV presenter.
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For many, many years, he has touched an incredible number of Swedes and there are those who are as popular as Gunde. Therefore, it has been really big shoes to fill for his son Ferry Swan.
READ MORE: Gunde Svan’s unparalleled numbers in the track as a 12-year-old boy are absolutely the sickest thing we’ve heard – confirming what we’ve always suspected
Son Ferry Swan
Just like his father, the 26-year-old has also chosen to invest in sports and with a father like Gunde, he has the very best role model and coach at home.
– I have really learned that if you want to get somewhere in the sports world, you have to train. And not a little either, but train hard and a lot, says Ferry when he is a guest on “Morning Pass in P3”.
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But unlike his father, Ferry Svan chose a completely different sport than cross-country skiing. And the father hasn’t tried to stop him from going his own way either.
– Me and my sister (Julia Svan, former cross-country skier) actually had to ask for our first skis, before we got any. So he had a strategy for that, maybe. It’s hard to force something on someone that you don’t want, so maybe the best medicine is to ask yourself. Then it becomes a motivation that is not pushed, says the 26-year-old in the interview.
READ MORE: Gunde Svan’s heartwarming gesture to Thomas Fogdö – after the accident that changed everything: “Just felt, what the hell…”
Instead, Ferry found love in the so unusual timber sport. Where it involves chopping and sawing large logs as quickly as possible using an axe, saw or other cutting tools. Svan is the best in Sweden in the sport and has broken both Nordic and European records during his career – and father Gunde is always present and supportive.
– He helps me a lot with training wood and then he has a large garage where I can train. My mother is also my coach so we are a good team, says the son in the radio interview.
And the big question that everyone is wondering is, of course, whether Ferry Svan has inherited his father’s huge winner’s skull.
– Yes, I would probably say that I am the same. It’s probably not so much about inheritance, but mostly about motivation. That you know what you want and where you are going, then you drive until nothing else works, says the son like a true Svan and also admits that he competes a lot against father Gunde in most things.
– Yes, I’ve probably done that my whole life, he says with a laugh.
Surely Gunde Svan and son Ferry seem to have a very nice relationship? Share the article and have your say!