For the time being, Frida Karlsson no longer wants to compete for the Swedish national team of cross-country skiers. The 22-year-old recently took this step publicly with her colleague Maja Dahlqvist. Criticism of the decision was not long in coming.
In Frida Karlsson and Maja Dahlqvist, the Swedish cross-country selection loses two top athletes. The duo could not agree on a new contract with the association and would rather prepare for the upcoming competitions without the national team. The 28-year-old Dahlqvist finished tenth in the last World Cup season, the 22-year-old Karlsson was twelfth.
“I find it sad that Frida and Maja no longer want to be part of the national team, as we see that our national team model has really made a strong contribution to our progress,” said Sweden’s cross-country manager Lars Öberg afterwards. However, the duo’s ideas simply no longer fitted the “Swedish model”.
Ex-biathlete Ferry: cross-country duo “made a mistake”
Criticism followed from Olympic biathlon champion Bjorn Ferry, who won the gold medal in the pursuit at the Vancouver 2010 Games. According to the 43-year-old, Karlsson and Dahlqvist should ultimately achieve exactly the opposite of what they are aiming for with their exit.
“I think they underestimate the team they’ve had around them so far. They know what didn’t work, but they didn’t catch everything that worked. They’ll see that now. There’s a lot that they do have to do,” Ferry predicted to Aftonbladet. Karlsson and Dahlqvist would therefore have to invest more time in their own preparation.
The former ski hunter was therefore convinced: “Taking on more responsibility is a big risk. You made a mistake.”