Frida Karlsson says exactly what all Swedish ski lovers want to hear – when she points out her biggest rivals

Frida Karlsson is clear ahead of the season.
When she points out her biggest rivals for this winter, she says exactly what all Swedish ski lovers want to hear.

Frida Karlsson is finally looking forward to a winter without any hassles. This year’s ski season is the first in a long time without any major championships to focus on, which means that the World Cup will be an even higher priority for all skiers. In previous years, for example, there has often been poor participation in the Tour de Ski, because many instead chose to train harder for the subsequent championship.

Reveals the objective

But this year it will be quite star-studded when the tour is decided at the end of the year, and the beginning of the next. For Frida Karlsson, however, it’s a lot about just being healthy, not injured – and more even. Karlsson is perhaps the skier in the world with the highest level in her, and on a good day there is no one who can threaten her. But Karlsson has had problems with both injuries and health in recent seasons, and for this season, a lot of it is about just maintaining an even level.

230104 Frida Karlsson of Sweden celebrates after women’s 20km pursuit during Tour de Ski on January 4, 2023 in Oberstdorf. Photo: Maxim Thore / BILDBYRÅN / code MT / MT0435

In the absence of setting big goals to take, for example, World Cup or Olympic gold, Karlsson’s goal is therefore to find a straighter line in his skiing.

– This season I want to be more stable, I don’t want to be up and down so much. I don’t have a concrete goal right away, but I want to get better at being good all the time, says Karlsson in a YouTube clip with the Italian newspaper Fondo Italia.

Points out biggest rival

In the YouTube clip, Frida Karlsson is also asked a question about who, or who, she sees as her biggest competitors during this year’s World Cup season. Frida Karlsson says exactly what all Swedish ski lovers want to hear – by not mentioning any skier outside the Swedish national ski team.

– I think we have a really good feeling within the team right now. The Swedish ski girls are on the way up!, she says.

230228 Frida Karlsson of Sweden (silver) and Ebba Andersson of Sweden (bronze) after competing in the Women’s Cross Country Skiing 10 km Free Technique during the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships on February 28, 2023 in Planica. Photo: Petter Arvidson / BILDBYRÅN / code PA / PA0526

Frida Karlsson also gets, as usual these days, a question about whether she wants Therese Johaug back. The Norwegian ended his career after the last Olympics, but during the autumn opened for a sensational comeback in connection with the WC in Trondheim next season.

– The rumors have of course reached me… It would be fun to have her back. We are a little afraid of her new “mother powers”, but it would always be fun to compete against her again, she says.

READ MORE: Ski star Frida Karlsson’s unexpected and heartwarming gesture – for her hometown: “Always in my heart”

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