A rare women’s sprint final was seen in Beitostölen, as there were no Swedes in it. Instead, Linn Svahn finally returned to the race tracks in Idre.
Linn Svahnin the name became familiar from the ski world cup top ropes a couple of seasons ago. However, the Swede, who won nine World Cup races, injured his shoulder in February 2021 and had to be operated on a couple of times after that.
The sprint cannon who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday was finally able to compete, and the speed had not disappeared anywhere in 607 days. Svahn won the national freestyle sprint race in Idre in superior style, as he kept the pace right from the qualifying.
– I decided not to come to the start if the shoulder doesn’t feel good. Now I was able to start and the shoulder is fine, he said for SVT (you switch to another service).
– This is what I’ve been waiting for, to be able to compete again. This was a good opening. I didn’t know what to expect from this day. We’ve done such a great job, me and everyone around me, but we didn’t know how fast I could ski. And it was nice that it was enough for today.
Svahn is not going to worry about his injury anymore, but is looking firmly ahead. He said that he wants to start next already in the World Cup, when the race is held in Davos next weekend.
Instead, Svahn’s racing sisters fared worse in the Beitostölen World Cup. Swedish women’s sprinters have dominated the early season competitions and took double victories both in Ruka and Lillehammer, but today there was not a single Swedish women’s sprinter in the World Cup final. Four Swedish women made it through the qualifiers to the next round and two to the semi-finals.
The last time this happened was on January 4, 2020, when the Swedes missed out on a final place at the Tour de Ski in the sprint of traditional skiing in Val di Fiemme.
– It was a bad day at work, he said Maja Dahlqvist for SVT (you switch to another service).