Anita Korva was a smash hit alongside Frida Karlsson and was predicted to have a brilliant future.
Then the Finnish giant talent disappeared.
Now she speaks out about her leaden years.
– It got too big, she says.
During JVM 2019, the skiing world caught the eye of Frida Karlsson. She had already won medals the year before, but in 2019 she won double gold, in 15 kilometer classic and 5 kilometer freestyle, and also a bronze in relay. But there were more skaters who had their big breakthrough during that championship.
Disappeared completely
Finland’s Anita Korva won three medals during the championship, and in Finland it was hoped that a new skiing queen had arrived. But then Anita Korva disappeared. While her competitors have become an obvious part of the world elite, Korva’s life has taken a completely different turn. In a new interview with the Finnish Ilta-Sanomat, the 23-year-old says that she struggled with depression and went to therapy for her mental illness.
For a while, things were so bad with Korva that she couldn’t even put on her skis.
– The mental problems came a few years ago. It very much attention about everything possible. There was a lot of mental pressure, she says to the Finnish newspaper, according to the Norwegian Dagbladet.
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“It ruined everything”
Anita Korva believes that the depression consumed her, and that it lasted for a long time.
– When it was at its worst, I couldn’t bear to train. It ruined everything, and I had to take a break. Now I train when the desire is there, and I tried to find the joy and meaning of training. Training harder doesn’t help anything, she says.
At the same time that the depression took hold of her, Korva saw how skaters such as Frida Karlsson, Helene Marie Fossesholm and Linn Svahn exploded.
– The only thing that made me was the skiing. When even that didn’t work, there were few things that could make me happy, she says.
Today, Anita Korva works in a sports shop in Kuopio. In the past year, she has practiced skiing more, but has still not decided whether it will be a new venture into the sport.
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