PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Jonna Sundling won double WC gold in Planica.
Still, she left the championship with disappointment.
Now, for the first time, the Swede opens up about her feelings after being poked in the WC relay.
It was Ebba Andersson who became the great WC queen in Planica with two golds and two bronzes. But close behind came the sprint queen Jonna Sundling with double WC gold as well, but “only” two medals in the championship.
Sundling’s poke
Sundling never got the chance in the big relay and was poked from yet another given medal position. Most thought that the 28-year-old was a given in the relay after two consecutive WC golds during the start of the WC, but instead got Maja Dahlqvist the chance on the last stretch and sprinted home a WC bronze to Sweden.
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Now Jonna breaks the silence and opens up about her strong feelings after the tough poke in the WC.
– The WC started with a real peak. But the ending was nothing that you had dreamed of right away. It was what it was. I did what I could on the “tian” (10 km free), but it was not a good day. I don’t really know why it didn’t fit. And then I got poked from the relay and chose not to ride the three-mile, says Sundling to Dagens Nyheter about the finish in Planica.
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Mixed feelings
So despite double World Championship gold for the second straight World Championship, Sundling had mixed feelings when the scorn returned to Sweden again. She continues to develop the decision behind her poke in the relay.
– You take out the team you believe in. And this time I wasn’t included. Of course we have discussions, but in the end it is the management that chooses who will be on the starting line. It’s always boring to be the one standing on the sidelines, Sundling admits in the interview.
– It’s probably something that makes me perhaps not feel that there was a “five plus” feeling at the WC. At the same time, I still touched my Oberstdorf WC. So in that way I’m very happy and proud, because not everyone does.
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Jonna Sundling also confesses that with hindsight she should perhaps have stood over the 10 kilometer race in the WC. But above all, the Swede feels that she wants to put this behind her and look ahead.
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Now awaits the conclusion of the World Cup with four individual World Cup sprints. So far, Sundling has won four sprint races this season.
– I feel very motivated and ready for this part of the season. Especially since the last few competitions were a bit worse for me. That’s why I’m looking forward to what’s to come. I take it competition by competition, but the ambition is to ride as much as possible, says the 28-year-old to the daily newspaper.
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