PHOTO: Bildbyrån
There were a total of four different thank-you speeches for Nils van der Poel during the Sports Gala.
And it was above all one of them that touched Charlotte Kalla a little extra.
– It was really emotional, says Kalla to Piteå-Tidningen.
The skating star Nils van der Poel became the Sports Gala’s big winner on Monday evening when he took home three different prizes. Performance of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year and the Jerring Award, which is perhaps the most prestigious award of them all. He also got to receive the achievement gold, an award that he had already been awarded in the past.
Success for van der Poel
And the awards are not exactly undeserved after the successful year that van der Poel has had, including two Olympic golds, double Olympic records and a world record. In 2022, he also announced that he would end his career after the end of the season, and with all the awards at the Sports Gala, he did it in the best possible way.
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During the gala, he had another Jerring Prize winner by his side at the table, none other than Charlotte Kalla who in turn took home the Jerring prize in 2008 after her feat in the Tour de Ski. And the evening was going to be emotional. In total, there were four acceptance speeches for van der Poel during the course of the evening, and in one of them he told about his friend who passed away after an accident, after which he read out a letter from his friend’s will.
– It was really emotional, says Charlotte Kalla to Piteå-Tidningen.
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“Wants to be an outsider”
Nils van der Poel also talked about how the path to success is individual, and that you should dare to go your own way.
– What he says about being an “outsider” is well thought out. It is absolutely something that you have to want to be in order to get far, says Charlotte Kalla.
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Charlotte Kalla could also recognize herself in what van der Poel talked about on stage.
– Yes, mostly in this with the fact that as a young person you go more by what others expect of you and what you think sounds good, than what you actually want. It is an important reminder, but it is certainly not easy to live up to it, says Kalla.
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