Photo: SVT
Jonna Sundling is one of the most successful skiers in Sweden, but she still keeps a very low profile.
Now she talks about her behavior that stands out in the national team.
– Sometimes I feel like I just want to be by myself. Then I leave, she says in SVT’s “Kallprat”.
With its four World Cup golds, three Olympic medals and loads of victories and podium places in the World Cup is Jonna Sundling30, one of Sweden’s best skiers in modern times. But it’s absolutely nothing she shows off.
Sundling speaks out in “Kallprat”
In SVT’s winter sports talk show “Kallprat”, where the reporter Johan Kücükaslan interviews famous Swedish athletes, she says that she does not want her medals and trophies in front of her home. She doesn’t like to assert herself that way. Nowadays, her partner has Anton forced her to hang up the medals.
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Kücükaslan leads the conversation on a somewhat sensitive topic, but Jonna Sundling still answers his questions very honestly. It appears that she does not like to take any place at all.
– You are one of the biggest stars in a national team. You are one of the most meritorious and successful too. Do you never make your voice heard then? You let others do the talking and the fighting?, he asks.
Jonna Sundling’s confession in SVT
Jonna Sundling then opens up and talks about her behavior. She is very aware that she can be perceived as boring and withdrawn.
– I usually try to put energy into things that give me something. Then… Of course I try, but it’s my Achilles heel. It’s nice to be kind and have that quality and be like that. Then to have his voice heard, it is clear that I also have opinions. But in the team I’m in, it easily happens that I fall by the wayside. I can often find that boring, because you kind of want to join in and like it, she says.
– What did you do to handle this better?, the host asks, to which the skiing star replies:
– When you are out among people, do you think? Because when we’re away with the national team, there’s always someone you live with, then you eat all the meals with everyone. You are with people almost 24/7. Some may love it. I can absolutely think it’s great fun, then there are certain moments when I feel like I just want to be by myself. Then I’ll leave.
Jonna laughs at the question
It is clear that Sundling needs her own time, even during the national team gatherings, to be able to enjoy herself and feel good, which is ultimately required for her to be able to deliver at the competitions.
– I can also sit and have coffee in the room and watch a series, just to be alone and do something other than sitting at a dining table all the time. All meals are eaten together, the fact that you break off sometimes has helped me to recharge the batteries sometimes when you are away, she says in SVT.
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Johan Kücükaslan then wonders if the other skaters in the national team accept her behavior. She then starts laughing.
– Do people understand that now, or do they think: “Sad Jonna left now and will eat by herself”?, he asks.
– I hope so. They probably think I’m boring, I don’t know. But I think most people still understand how I am. That I can only pull sometimes, she says and giggles.
Everyone is allowed to be who they are, there is no right or wrong. Don’t forget that, Jonna. You are really awesome! We should be happy that we have you in our national team and that you perform the way you do. Hey hey Jonna!
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