PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Therese Johaug may soon have decided on a comeback.
Then the Norwegian legend strikes back against Frida Karlsson’s harsh words.
– I shouldn’t be cocky, but…, says Johaug to the Norwegian newspaper VG.
It’s the big talk in the skiing world right now. Everyone just goes and waits for the Norwegian ski queen Therese Johaug must decide on a grand comeback.
Karlsson’s words
Johaug has not yet made up her mind and a final answer on whether she will return or not will come in the next few weeks. But it is clear that she is keen to ride the five-mile during the 2025 World Ski Championships in Trondheim, it has not been a secret at all.
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But the big question is whether she has the motivation and strength to start a wholehearted elite effort again, after quitting and also becoming a mother. The Swedish ski star recently opened Frida Karlsson up about a possible comeback for Johaug and then was harsh and brutally honest with the Norwegian that it will be tough to return to the world elite.
– I can only look at myself, I’m not getting worse. The level overall has become much higher and I think the races have changed a little, the width is much higher now, Karlsson said then.
– She scared the competition with a shock start and nobody cared about her. But I don’t think people will just let her go now.
Johaug’s answer
Now Johaug hits back against the Swede’s harsh words and does not agree at all that things have improved that much since 2022 when she ended her career.
– No, I’ll honestly admit that. Others, like Lotta (Udnes Weng), have come and told me that. That it’s not the same speed as before I left. Now it’s more even at the top, says the Norwegian in an interview with VG.
– But if you had removed me in the last years that I competed, it would also have been even. If you look at the championships, I was at the front and everyone else was fighting for the medals back there. I won’t be cocky, but it’s a fact.
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The Norwegian newspaper then asks if Johaug is keen to convince Karlsson with an overrun in the next skiing World Cup.
– If we come to Trondheim and she hits me… Oh, oh, oh, then I’ll be annoyed. But in a good way. Because we have fooled around and argued a bit. But it still remains, that three mile in Holmenkollen in 2020 (when Frida Karlsson defeated Therese Johaug), admits the Norwegian giant.
READ MORE: Maja Dahlqvist now admits what she really thinks about Norwegian arch-rival Kristine Stavås Skistad: “We won’t…”
Many skiers have welcomed Therese Johaug back to the ski tracks, but the Norwegian national team coach thinks so Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass is just a game for the gallery.
– They “must” say that Therese is welcome back. And a lot of people might think it’s going to be exciting in a way, but I think they know it’s going to be worse to win a medal. And then the question is which medal they want, he tells VG.
– I do not believe that the level of women’s cross-country skiing has been raised very much. If Therese is around the level she was then she is good enough to take gold. Some of the riders may have leveled up, but they have to level up quite a bit to be at Therese’s top level.
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