Therese Johaug amazes – Aino-Kaisa Saarinen cannot understand the Norwegians’ reactions | Sport

Finished his racing career a couple of years ago Therese Johaug made a knock-out performance at the Norwegian championships. He won the 30-kilometer intermediate start race in free skiing with almost three minutes difference from the next one.

The race was Johaug’s second since his retirement. He won two weeks ago in Switzerland also overwhelmingly. However, many Norwegian experts were now confused about how the 35-year-old woman skied to a clear victory in competitions of a clearly higher level.

For example, NRK’s ​​commentator and former top skier Martin Johnsrud Sundby was stunned by Johaug’s overwhelming superiority. Sundby could not believe what he saw. Another expert of the channel, Fredrik Aukland spoke for himself of shock.

Urheilu’s expert and former competitor of Johaug Aino-Kaisa Saarinen is amazed at the astonishment of the Norwegians.

– I think it would have been surprising if he hadn’t been this good. I wonder why they are so surprised in Norway, Saarinen taps.

Within the scope of the testing system

Saarinen reminds that Johaug participated in the games with good energy, while the bodies of others were heavy with competition fatigue after a tough World Cup season.

Saarinen, who won individual World Championship gold in 2009, says that Johaug’s margin of victory was approximately the same as he had thought beforehand. Saarinen sees that Johaug has never really finished.

– For example, he has been part of the Adams doping system all along. Apparently, he has been thinking about coming back, which is why he has been under testing all along. He has also been training hard.

Also a member of Urheilu’s expert guard Kalle Lassila was not surprised by Johaug’s striking ability. He reminds that the Norwegian said goodbye to the ski slopes as very superior.

A lot has happened in Johaug’s civilian life in two years. The skiing queen became a mother last year. For his part, at the turn of the year, he married his long-term life partner, an ex-rower Nils Jakob Hoffin with.

However, Johaug has taken care of his health in addition to everything.

– It was expected that he would return in good shape. The fact that it’s so hard is of course a small surprise, Lassila sees.

The savior of Norwegian women’s skiing?

After Johaug, the second best was not a Norwegian at all, but the USA who had the hardest ride on the climb of the Tour de Skin Alpe Cermis Sophia Laukli. Of Norway’s current national team tops Astrid Öyre Slind and Heidi Weng were more than three minutes away from Johaug.

Although Weng calmed down in an interview with NRK that other skiers have no cause for crisis, the level of women’s skiing in Norway has taken a big setback in two years. On normal trips, skiers from Sweden, Finland, the USA and even Germany are ahead of the Norwegians in terms of level.

Johaug has shown his interest in the women’s 50 km race to be held at next year’s Trondheim World Championships. In terms of the credibility of Norwegian women’s skiing, the country’s skiing association probably hopes with folded hands that Johaug will actually ski at the World Championships.

– The level of Norwegian female skiers is not what the national team should have, Lassila reminds.

“It would be a disgusting trick”

In the case of Johaug, there has been talk specifically about the 50 km race of the World Championships. Saarinen and Lassila are both of the opinion that when participating in the home games, the Norwegian would probably ski all individual normal distances as well as the long relay.

Johaug has experienced the home world championships once in his career, in 2011 in Oslo.

– I bet that the Norwegians miss him even a little bit. It would be a disgusting trick if he, in such great shape, said that he would only ski 50 kilometers and not be in the relay, Saarinen sees.

In 2019, 2021 and 2022, Johaug won all three personal standard distance gold medals each time.

– Two years ago, she was by far the best female skier in the world. If he decides to continue now, why settle for only fifty in the home games? That current condition shows that he is a medal candidate on all normal distances, Lassila says.

A knockout blow to Finns’ dreams?

Kerttu Niskanen and still considering the continuation of his career Krista Pärmäkoski have never won a personal value competition gold. The duo, who celebrated victories in the World Cup this year, have shown that they can fight for the championship at the traditional 10 km split start in Trondheim.

Especially for Niskanen, it is more likely, as he has won that distance twice this season and celebrated three first places in total.

Saarinen doesn’t buy the talk that Johaug’s participation in the traditional ten would be a knock-out blow to the Finns’ dreams of victory. Two years ago, at the Beijing Olympics, Johaug won the Olympic gold for the distance just 0.4 seconds ahead of Niska. Pärmäkoski was third in the race.

– They have won Therese before. The medals will not be handed out yet, even if he announces that he will go to the Games. However, this brings good interest around the sport. I hope he inspires others to train more.