“I’m completely frozen”
Chest pain: Cross-country skier has to stop
January 21, 2025 – 7:13 a.mReading time: 1 min.
The women’s mass start in cross-country skiing on Sunday ended with a Swedish double victory. But the demolition of another runner was also an issue afterwards.
After just over ten kilometers it was over and Hedda Østberg Amundsen had to stop. The women’s cross-country skiing mass start over 20 kilometers simply didn’t work anymore. “I don’t know what happened. My chest tightened and then I felt dizzy. I completely froze,” she told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK after the race.
The chest pain and high pulse unsettled the 26-year-old immensely. Assistant coach Marit Bjørgen tried to calm Østberg Amundsen. “It was an unpleasant situation that she had never experienced before,” said the former world-class athlete after the abortion. Bjørgen took the skis and poles from the 26-year-old.
“I’ve never felt that before,” explained Østberg Amundsen, who had tears in her eyes as she spoke to the journalists on site. “I actually just saw stars,” she added.
Østberg Amundsen’s experience is very reminiscent of what other athletes report who suffer from a minor cardiac arrhythmia. The biathlete Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, for example, underwent minor heart surgery in December (read more about this here). She also reported a high pulse rate and flashes that she saw.
Østberg Amundsen did not want to rule out such a diagnosis. “It’s possible. (…) Maybe I should check it out when I get home,” she said.