She is one of Sweden’s most popular athletes ever.
But now Charlotte Kalla opens up about the struggle throughout her career.
– I knew it would be a challenge, she says.
The big breakthrough came when she sensationally won the Tour de Ski, and after that Charlotte Kalla’s career skyrocketed. For more than a decade she was one of the world’s best skiers, and undoubtedly one of Sweden’s greatest athletes.
Unknown struggle
With his enormous success on the ski track, Kalla also quickly became one of Sweden’s most talked about athletes and most popular athletes. Today, Charlotte Kalla has ended her skiing career, but she is still extremely popular, which was not least proven when she took part in the TV4 long-distance runner Let’s Dance last year.
But Charlotte Kalla has always been completely safe with all the fame. Even as a youngster, Kalla found it difficult to be the center of attention, and in the Swedish Radio program “Gränslöst” Kalla tells about when at school she had to show off a medal she had won in DM.
– I thought it was very unpleasant to stand there in front. I wasn’t sure what the reactions would be, says Kalla in the program, according to Expressen.
“Knew it would be a challenge”
But after Kalla won the Tour de Ski as an 18-year-old, and just two years later took Olympic gold as a 20-year-old, the media was everywhere around her. And she understood that it would not be easy to handle.
– I didn’t know when I started skiing that it would be a challenge. It’s part of the job, says Kalla.
But even though Kalla has almost 20 years as a public figure, and as one of Sweden’s most talked about people, it still happens that she gets nervous in media contexts.
– But also excited, because I know I need nervousness to deliver as well as possible.
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