Jonna Sundling took the first individual distance victory of her career.
A shock, according to some.
But not according to Sundling.
– It is breaking some new ground, she says.
Jonna Sundling has long been one of the world’s best sprinters. At times she has been superior in the championship as well as in the World Cup, but in the distance there has been no victory, and it has not been particularly surprising.
“Break new ground…”
It is unusual for pure sprint specialists to assert themselves over longer distances. At the same time, it is even more unusual that riders who are usually best at distance can threaten in sprints. But this weekend, Jonna Sundling won the 10 kilometer race in North America, ahead of skaters such as Frida Karlsson and Jessie Diggins. In the race, sprint specialist Linn Svahn also finished fourth.
For Jonna Sundling, the success was long-awaited, but also surprising, as the win came in an individual start rather than a mass start, where the sprint is of great importance.
– I really wanted a distance victory. Then I didn’t think it would come now that it was an individual start, I rather thought it would come in a mass start. But now it became all the more fun, says Sundling to SVT, and continues:
– It is breaking some new ground.
Am not surprised
Jonna Sundling understands that people are surprised by the success, but she believes at the same time that it is stretching it too far to call the whole thing a scandal.
– I have been close before so in that way I know that if I have a good day it can go all the way, says Sundling.
For Jonna Sundling, it was uncertain how things would go for her in the race. Individual starts are becoming increasingly rare.
– Normally, you have individual starts almost every weekend. So there was an uncertainty, but then I just tried to find the right intensity and drive the ride all the time. It was fun that I managed to find a good starting speed, she says.
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