At the season opener in Beitostølen, the Norwegian cross-country skier Emil Iversen took a strong second place behind the outstanding Johannes Klæbo. After the race, the 31-year-old fought back tears.
“I’m happy and relieved. The last year wasn’t fun. I felt like I wasn’t myself,” revealed Iversen in an interview with “NRK”.
Now his mother can finally breathe a sigh of relief, she suffered extremely with him in the “tough” previous year, revealed the emotionally touched cross-country skier, who then thanked the rest of his family and friends for their support in difficult times. He “appreciated it very much”.
Cross-country skiing: Iversen point above Klæbo
In Beitostølen, Iversen was only beaten by Johannes Klæbo, who came back in great form after a four-month hamstring injury.
In the run-up, the form of the 26-year-old had caused guesswork. Iversen, who accused his compatriot of having “exaggerated”, believes that Klæbo was quite accommodating.
“I’m not sure if everything he’s said lately has been absolutely true,” he said about Klæbo, who had held back with comeback forecasts until recently.
Klæbo “surprised himself” by success
Klæbo countered that Iversen “can believe whatever he wants”. The top cross-country skier revealed on the “NRK” microphone that he was “surprised himself” to come back so strongly.
During the race he didn’t give much thought to his injury, only afterwards did it become an issue again, Klæbo admitted.
Now he’s just happy to be back. “I definitely missed wearing a race number on my chest,” admitted the Norwegian dominator, who has won five Olympic gold medals.