Emma Ribom fell in the semi-finals of the Davos sprint – and was in tears afterwards.
Then she, and Sweden, was mocked by Kristine Stavå’s Skistad.
The sour fit caused Swedish skiing enthusiasts to completely rage.
Kristine Stavås Skistad is Norway’s new star skater on the women’s side, and she has many times in the past year been the only one who could threaten the superb Swedish national sprint team, where skaters like Jonna Sundling, Linn Svahn, Maja Dahlqvist and Emma Ribom all belong to the absolute top tier in the world . And as Skistad Stavås has won more and more competitions, the rivalry has become even greater.
Fell in the last corner
In the Davos sprint on Wednesday, there was once again a big drama where Skistad Stavås was involved, and this time it was Emma Ribom who was affected. In the semifinals, Ribom was in a good position behind Linn Svahn, but in the last corner she fell, and there was thus no place in the final.
– I feel that there is something that makes me unable to stand on my feet. It feels as if I get hit a little from behind and then it is difficult to parry, Ribom told SVT afterwards, emotional and in tears.
In the replay pictures, it was clear that it was Kristine Stavå’s Skistad who was riding Ribom’s skis. Sweden wanted to make it so that Stavås Skistad should be washed, but Fis assessed the whole thing as a “race incident”, i.e. something that can happen and that can be expected. And in the final, Stavås Skistad took second place, only beaten by Linn Svahn, who won her second straight sprint competition in the Tour de Ski.
The mockery after the tears
Skistad said afterwards that she is “used to” the Swedes complaining about her, but she also stated that it was close, and that she should not reasonably have been close to being washed. Sweden ultimately did not file a protest against the verdict, and Ribom said afterward that she was not angry at Skistad, but more at the whole incident.
– No, I’m annoyed by the situation. There is so much we go over, not just today but a whole tour. It was an important day for me and I was really keen to collect a lot of seconds, said Ribom.
But Kristine Stavå’s Skistad doesn’t have much left for the Swedes’ anger. She was clear that this is something you have to count on when you go sprinting, and afterwards she also took the opportunity to mock all the Swedes, and their thinking about filing a protest. Skistad had already decided in advance to break the tour after Wednesday’s sprint, and on Instagram in the evening she sent a sour pass to Ribom and the other Swedes.
“Home and train. While the Swedes are busy in the jury room,” she wrote.
In the comments section, many Swedish skiing enthusiasts raged against Skistad.
“But now you have to give up. Can you be a little damn nice sometime?”, writes one user.
“A bad attitude won’t win you any applause. Behave as an adult and take responsibility for what you did in the track,” writes another.
“It was quite a bit when It was visible all over you when you reached the finish line that you knew you had made a mistake! Your whole face screamed!” added a third.
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