When the legal process is completed, Nora Lindahl is a Finnish national team athlete.
Nora Lindahl wants to represent Finland. Tomi Natri /AOP
Swedish athletics talent Nora Lindahl the desire to represent Finland has been met with dismay in Sweden.
The Finnish Sports Federation announced today, Tuesday, that Lindahl submitted a request to the Finnish Sports Federation (Sul) to move to represent Finland. Lindahl is a dual citizen of Finland and Sweden, her father is a former runner Markus Lindahl.
Sul has submitted an application to the International Association of Athletics Federations WA for the right to represent Lindahl.
The 21-year-old running talent has won the under-20 200m European Championship in 2023 and the under-23 EC bronze in Bergen last summer. He represented Sweden at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200 meters. In last summer’s European Championships, he ran to the 200 meter semi-finals.
In Sweden, Lindahl’s desire to change the country of representation came as a complete surprise.
– I’m amazed and a little dizzy because of this, the leader of the Swedish national athletics team Kajsa Berqvist says to Expressen.
– I talked about it with Nora, and there seems to be nothing behind this decision other than her dream to represent her father’s country of birth. This is a great loss for Swedish athletics, says Berqvist.
The Swedish broadcasting company SVT describes in its story that Lindahl’s decision “hit like a bomb” among Swedish track and field athletes. Lindahl did not tell anyone about her decision to change her representative country until the matter became official.
Lindahl’s change from Swedish colors to Finland is rare, if not even exceptional.
– I personally don’t know anyone else who would have done this, Lindahl himself tells SVT.
There is still no certainty when Lindahl could compete under the Finnish flag. Sul says that in connection with each change of representative country, a grace period is determined, which is basically three years long. A shortening of the grace period can be requested on special grounds. Each application is evaluated according to the specified reduction criteria and the relevant overall circumstances.
Sul has submitted an exemption application to WA in order to make the grace period shorter. During the process, Lindahl cannot represent Finland or Sweden.