He has several years behind him of injuries and illnesses.
But on Sunday evening, Joakim Lindberg won gold in the Canoe WC – and the Swede was superior for large parts of the final.
– It is unimaginable, he says.
The Swedish canoe star finished fourth in the WC 2019. Since then, Joakim Lindberg has had major setbacks, and was pulled with a long-term elbow injury.
Sensational gold
As a result of the injury, the Swede missed the entire competition season in 2020, and large parts of the following year. This year, things haven’t gone exactly as planned for Lindberg, who after the turn of the year fell ill with corona. He missed several World Cup competitions, and was unable to walk fully for over three months.
But for the Canoe WC in Canada, Joakim Lindberg was back in full swing. The 29-year-old took command straight away in the final, and was in sole and superior command for large parts of the race. When he finally crossed the finish line, it was clear that he had won his first individual WC gold in his career.
– It was surreal! I already felt with a lap to go that they weren’t catching anything behind and I was able to keep up a decent speed. So I just tried to enjoy the whole last kilometer, he tells SVT Sport.
“Extremely well”
He continues:
– The feeling when I crossed the finish line… It was incredibly good! There were a lot of emotions running through the body then.
With the long history of injuries, Joakim Lindberg admits that it has been a long road to this summer’s WC. O motivational problems have been a cloud of worry over the Swede:
– You want so much, so the hardest thing for me was to start carefully, which you were given a lot of advice about. So the biggest challenge has been the mental thing, to fight on even when things are going very slowly, he says.
The WC gold has been worth fighting for.
– It’s huge! It means a lot, really a motivation to continue and work towards future competitions. Great fun, really, says Lindberg.
READ MORE: Details: Two new SHL clubs challenge for Jonathan Dahlén – reportedly offered the star super contract