They weren’t exactly the same as people.
But Gunde Svan and Thomas Wassberg still helped each other.
Now Wassberg comes up with a neat joke about the rivalry.
During the 80s, Sweden was the world leader in cross-country skiing, with an entire national team that could all challenge for first places in the World Cup and during major championships. The big stars were Thomas Wassberg and Gunde Svan, and the rivalry between the two giants was enormous.
Incomparable duo
The rivalry was especially special considering how different they both were. Wassberg was the older one, calmer on the surface, the one who didn’t care too much about materials or preparations. It was more just putting on the skis and doing your best. Gunde Svan, on the other hand, left nothing to chance. He was meticulous about everything – how he slept, exercised and above all, what he ate – and that led to enormous success.
At the beginning of Gunde Svan’s career, he often had to see himself defeated by Wassberg, and during the Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984, Svan got the early starting group in the five mile. He had already won Olympic gold in the 15km, but Wassberg still got the late start, which meant he had times to ride – and that also led to gold. In retrospect, Svan has admitted that he was inconsolable afterwards, and he felt let down by the management, who thus chose Wassberg before him.
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The pass to Gunde
After all, Gunde Svan is one of Sweden’s greatest, with a whopping seven WC golds and four Olympic golds. And the question is how successful he actually would have been if it weren’t for Thomas Wassberg. They both pushed each other forward in everything, both in training and competition, and even though they were great rivals, they were also good friends, who always wanted the best for each other. Svan and Wassberg are still good friends to this day, and every time their rivalry and friendship comes up, the duo says the same thing: They have a lot to thank each other for when it comes to success.
In an interview with Senioren from last year, Wassberg quite rightly admitted that the two legends, in many ways, supported each other. But Wassberg also couldn’t stop himself from pulling off a really nice pass in Gunde’s direction – that it was rather Wassberg who let Svan win, more than anything else.
– We pushed each other forward even though we were different. In the beginning, he wanted to win every single competition, and I could probably compete in a competition at some point. But we were always friends and still keep in touch, says Wassberg.
Thomas Wassberg and Gunde Svan, two of our absolute greatest!
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