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The entire skiing world was shocked when Frida Karlsson collapsed.
But not Marcus Hellner, who immediately felt that everything was calm.
– You could tell by the atmosphere, the Olympic gold hero admits to Dagens Nyheter.
With three Olympic golds and a WC gold as the main merits Marcus Hellner one of Sweden’s foremost cross-country skiers of all time. His skiing career ended in 2018, but his interest in skiing is still alive today and, like many other Swedes, he watched the end of the Tour de Ski on television.
Frida’s collapse
When Frida Karlsson gave everyone their energy to win the Tour de Ski and then fell at the finish line. The Swede received immediate medical attention and had to leave the finish line on a stretcher, a short time later she recovered but there was great concern for her.
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Unlike everyone else, Hellner was calm as he watched the drama unfold. He quickly got the feeling that there was no danger, despite her nasty collapse.
– I don’t know Frida that way, but I thought it was calm. At the same time, you want to have it confirmed by a doctor, and it happened quite quickly that she scratched herself. You could tell from the atmosphere in the interviews with the other activists as well, Anna Dyvik among others, says the 37-year-old in an interview with Dagens Nyheter.
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Hellner’s words
Olympic gold hero Hellner was known during his active time to really give it his all and push his body to breaking point. But he admits that he himself has never stopped during a race.
– It’s a lot about gut feeling. But when something feels wrong, you shouldn’t continue. At the same time, it doesn’t have to be wrong to be “lactic acid tired”, but if you feel that something is crazy, that’s another matter. After all, there are those who exercise with symptoms of illness and who are not sure whether they have a cold or not. It’s a typical thing when you’re young and eager. Everything should be right with the body, and if you are only healthy you should not be afraid. Then you should be able to drive on. Regardless, it’s not usually a winning concept to run completely exhausted and go dumb, he says to the daily newspaper.
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The overall victory in the Tour de Ski is Frida Karlsson’s biggest individual success so far in her career, and after the mini-tour, the 23-year-old is now directing her full focus towards the season’s big highlight with the World Ski Championships. Hellner does not think that the Swede will have any major problems recharging after this energy drain.
– I do not think so. She is in shape and has won the tour. It is perhaps primarily now about getting a rest period. For my own part, it may have taken a week before you got the energy back in your body, so during that period it is important to be very cool and take it easy. In general, I don’t think there is much danger. I believe in the concept of running the tour and that it can be good for future competitions, he says in the interview.
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