When Thomas Wassberg was responsible for the crushing of the times – so superior that the neighboring country only responded with a lousy Norway joke

Leksand extended the winning streak beat AIK

When Thomas Wassberg won WC gold in the three mile, it was not only long-awaited.
It was completely superior.
So much so that our neighboring country could only respond with a really lousy Norway joke.

Thomas Wassberg is one of our absolute greatest winter athletes ever, and his credentials are almost unparalleled in Swedish skiing. Wassberg was good at all the longer distances, and had a winner’s skull beyond the ordinary, and all sports fans loved him for it.

Historic crusher

Wassberg is one of the few skaters who won gold in all the longer distances, and they are impressed to say the least. He won Olympic gold in 15 kilometers in 1980, World Cup gold in 50 kilometers in 1982, Olympic gold in 50 kilometers in the 1984 Olympics, and in the same Olympics he also won gold in the relay. What he missed in 1987 was a gold in the three mile, but when it did come, it wasn’t even very dramatic.

810313 Skiing, Pre-WC: Thomas Wassberg. © Bildbyrån

Wassberg admitted in advance that he had thought about it, that he wanted to complete the gold collection, and when he went out on the February day during the WC in Oberstdorf, he was in the form of his life. And then no one even came close to threatening him. As he crossed the finish line, he said, with all sincerity:

– Where the hell did everyone go? I was really surprised.

READ MORE: Ski icon Thomas Wassberg makes a powerful comeback again – 66(!) years old: “We didn’t see this coming”

Incredible Norway jokes

What had happened was that Wassberg pulled away, and no one could even get close. Wassberg won the race by a margin of almost two minutes, a rarity at the time, and was considered in the press to be the most superior win in skiing history. Finland’s Aki Karvonen finished second, and Norway missed the podium with all riders.

870221 Skiing, WC, Oberstdorf, 50 KM: Silver medalist Thomas Wassberg, Sweden at the finish line. © Bildbyrån

After the superior race, the Norwegians brought up the fact that Wassberg was born only half a mile from the Norwegian border – and then they also took the opportunity to make a very typical Norwegian joke about the whole thing.

– Today we were only 5,000 meters from the gold, said a Norwegian according to Expressen.

READ MORE: This is how Sven-Åke Lundbäck lives 45 years after the success – his own words about Thomas Wassberg’s protest: “He didn’t want…”

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