PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Sweden missed out on the WC gold in the women’s relay.
Afterwards, a clear rift arose between the riders and the Swedish herding team.
– I am a little surprised, admits Frida Karlsson, who directs clear criticism in DN.
The Swedish ladies entered the relay as big favourites, but they would have to fight hard to even reach the podium on Thursday. Because there was something that didn’t suit the blue-and-yellow riders back then Ebba Andersson fell and Frida Karlsson got out completely but still didn’t keep up.
Frida dejected
It was on the third leg that the entire relay was decided when the Norwegian veteran Ingvild Flugstad Östberg pulled away from Karlsson considerably and opened up a gap of a full 15 seconds down to Sweden. Maja Dahlqvist never managed to catch up to that lead and had to sprint to a WC bronze instead.
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After the race, Frida was extremely disappointed and felt guilty for the Swedish miscalculation and the missed WC gold. The 23-year-old was completely dejected in the interviews afterwards and pointed out the skis and the riding as the big problem.
READ MORE: Frida Karlsson’s surprising confession in the skiing World Cup – opens up about changing sports: “If I’m going to stop…”
“Being surprised”
But when the national ski team’s head coach Petter Myhlback then Viaplay admitted that the Swedish riders had good material today and that it was not the fault that there was a clear crack between the riders and the embankments. The words from the herd manager surprised both Frida and Ebba.
– I don’t know if he has ridden my skis today. I’m a little surprised. Maybe we should have a chat together instead, says Karlsson to Dagens Nyheter.
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Ebba Andersson thinks that the paddock manager should have listened to the riders’ opinions after the race before he spoke so openly on the TV broadcast.
– I don’t know if he has seen the TV pictures when Ingvild leaves Frida. Maybe I’m a little thoughtful about that. It feels difficult to express yourself before you have even talked to us about how you feel, says Ebba to the daily.
READ MORE: Norway’s giant criticism of Sweden in the skiing World Cup – Petter Northug’s hard words: “It’s a fiasco”
When the Swedish paddock manager is confronted by Frida and Ebba’s surprise that they didn’t talk to the riders before speaking on TV, Myhlback admits that it got stressful.
– Possibly. But it is an analysis when I see TV pictures and in the best of worlds we should talk together before, but there was no time for that. I think it’s boring as hell to go this round (in the interview zone) when the riders are not happy and everything is not at its best. It’s almost like you long to do it when everything is at its peak, he says to DN.
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