Sweden finished with silver in the women's relay in Val di Fiemme after Ebba Andersson suffered double falls, one breaking her ski. What appeared set to be a fourth gold for the Swedish cross-country women turned into a nightmare. Andersson blames herself and describes panic and heartbreak after the race.
Sweden's cross-country women started strongly in the relay in Val di Fiemme. Linn Svahn skied a perfect first leg and handed over in the lead, more than seven seconds ahead of Italy and Norway. But on Ebba Andersson's classic leg, events took a dramatic turn.
Andersson first fell in a left curve and watched Norway's Astrid Øyre Slind pull away. Worse came in a downhill run, where her left ski got stuck in the muddy snow. Andersson did a somersault, the binding broke, and panic set in. “I got a bit scared in the downhill and then seconds later I do a somersault. It was a bit of crisis and panic,” she tells SVT.
She first tried to fix the ski herself but then hopped down the hill on one leg to coach Lars Ljung, who arrived with a spare ski. After the change, the gap to Norway was huge – Sweden was eighth, 1 minute and 18 seconds behind Slind. Frida Karlsson gained just under twelve seconds on Norway's Karoline Simpson-Larsen on her leg but not enough to challenge.
Jonna Sundling saved the silver on the final leg. She passed Italy's Federica Cassol and Finland's Jasmi Joensuu, sprinting in second behind Norway's Heidi Weng, just ten seconds ahead of Finland. “It hurts the heart,” Andersson tells SVT and takes full blame: “I can't blame anyone else. I got a bit too scared, a bit too tired to act completely smart there and then."
At the press conference, she struggled with her emotions. “It's a battle. I have to fight just to sit here. But it's part of the game,” she says. Despite the sorrow, she wonders if she fits in the team for the 50-kilometer race next Sunday but hopes to be selected. The body is okay, but not the heart, she concludes. Saturday's silver broke the Swedish women's streak of ten consecutive championship golds.
