In her autobiography, Charlotte Kalla tells about excessive weight loss and the idealization of thinness. Reijo Jylhä believes that Finland has also gone too far.
Charlotte Kalla published an autobiography. Pasi Liesimaa
Olympic champion in skiing Charlotte Kalla says in his recent autobiography Skam den som ger sig (Fin. Shame on the one who gives up) about his struggle with weight.
Kalla wanted to lose a few kilograms to be in the best possible race condition. When that didn’t work, the skier gobbled up food and tried to vomit.
Iltalehti’s skiing expert Reijo Jylhä according to, weight optimization has been taking place for a long time in sports where weight has a significant effect on the final result. The body may be tightened before value competitions.
– We are fighting to ensure that the performance does not decrease when the weight drops. When the weight is dropped for a short time, for example for value competitions, and the drop is not too radical, the strength is not lost.
The ex-head coach of the Finnish national team believes that in addition to Sweden and Norway, Finland has also had problems related to weight optimization.
– The problems are related to not giving up on weight loss when the weight has been reduced for the competition event. There is so much training in skiing that too little energy intake causes problems.
Looks
Reijo Jylhä already remembers Charlotte Kalla from the Junior World Championships. Jussi Saarinen
Tightening the weight before value competitions is a matter of short-term filing.
– In value competitions, weight control is not as problematic as in the training season, where you really have to be able to train and recover. Nutrition is a significant part of everyday life.
According to Jylhä, weight control causes more difficulties for women than for men. When it comes to extreme precision, body image can be disturbed.
According to Kalla, in the Swedish national team, really thin women were praised as strong.
– Women easily pay attention to how they look. The body image that is idealized does not necessarily match the skier’s own image and what the skier sees around them, says Jylhä.
More?
Charlotte Kalla broke into the international top in 2007–2008. Photo from early 2007. PDO
Jylhä’s first memories of Charlotte Kalla are from 2007.
The Swede won the under-20 world championship in Tarvisio, Italy, in the five-kilometer freestyle race and the ten-kilometer pursuit. In the sprint, there was a World Championship silver.
Jylhan Martti-boy won the World Championship gold in the 10 km free race and silver in the sprint at the same games.
Already in the next season, the Swedish promise celebrated the Tour de Ski victory. He defeated Finland Virpi Kuitunen (now Sarasvuo) in the final ascent of Alpe Cermis.
– Kalla’s ice skating was world class at its best, Jylhä recalls the skier’s career.
In his book, the Ruotsalaistahti tells about the fierce self-criticism that caused insecurity. Kalla also demanded nothing more from the national team.
When the skier’s development proposals were referred to with a glove, he decided to train outside the national team.
– Self-criticism often occurs in people in such a way that the level of demands is directed not only at themselves but also at others. Kalla did not feel that he always got enough from the national team, but made his own decisions. He has wanted to be that good, Jylhä says.
In her career, Kalla won three Olympic golds and a world championship, as well as a total of 22 prestigious medals. In the overall race of the World Cup, he was third at best.
– Although he was very successful in the value races, the goal was perhaps to be even stronger and dominate at the top for longer, says Jylhä.