PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Today, Jonna Sundling is one of our foremost skiing heroes.
But it was close to becoming nothing at all in the ski tracks.
Now the Swede reveals his thoughts on putting down cross-country skiing.
Nowadays, it is a matter of course to see Jonna Sundling hit the slopes and pile success upon success. She is today one of Sweden’s top cross-country skiers and the skiing world’s top sprinter.
Sundling’s big hit
Sundling won double WC gold in the sprint and sprint relay during both the Ski WC 2021 and the Ski WC 2022 as well as Olympic gold in Beijing 2022. At the WC in Trondheim 2025, she can therefore win her fourth straight gold in the sprint and it would be a rarely seen feat.
READ MORE: Sweden’s effort in the Tour de Ski makes me worried before the ski WC
But it could have turned out so much differently. Now Jonna opens up about the tough choice she was forced to make and how close it was to her quitting cross-country skiing altogether.
– Before high school, I also played football and was really into it, because I thought it was a lot of fun. But I was still better at cross-country skiing, so I chose that instead, she says in the podcast “Vinterpasset” about the decision to start ski high school as a teenager.
– There was no talk of it being a sports high school and I chose between the two sports. I chose skiing in the end and moved to Lyksele, it went pretty well but I was sick a lot during high school.
Jonna’s big doubts
Jonna Sundling also doubted her capacity as a skier during the three years at high school. The big breakthrough came in 2014 and then came the necessary self-confidence to continue his investment in the ski slopes.
– It was only at the end of high school, when I won JVM gold in sprints, that I felt that “this is what I should be doing”. Then I also start to believe a lot in myself, which I hadn’t done before, and that did a lot to give me more motivation and it became easier to continue, she says in the podcast.
– It was a turning point for me, I had mostly been doing it because it was fun and my friends were doing skiing. But now I began to dream of winning big competitions for real.
READ MORE: Linn Svahn’s clear criticism of this year’s edition of the Tour de Ski
Sundling then made his debut at the World Cup in 2015 as a 20-year-old and then new doubts came. It would then take until 2018 before she took her very first podium as a senior rider.
– It was difficult to go from junior to senior and it was a big step for me, physically speaking. The sprint went perfectly fine, but the distance skiing: “Oh, how far behind I was. I don’t belong here”. I never thought I would make it. But the sprint became my carrot and I knew I could get better. But with the distance I was way too far behind, it was tough there and then, she admits in her own podcast.
But since then, Jonna has really changed gears and as a 30-year-old, she has won five gold medals in the WC and Olympics and taken 48 podium places at the World Cup.
What do you think of Jonna Sundling as a skier? Share the article and have your say!
Share