Sweden will field only two athletes in the women’s 50km mass start ski race at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, after a wave of illness swept through the team. Frida Karlsson and Jonna Sundling are currently unwell, while Johanna Hagström returned home last week and Linn Svahn, Moa Ilar, and Maja Dahlqvist have all been sidelined in recent days.
SVT Sport’s expert analyst, Anders Blomquist, sharply criticized the situation, stating, “It’s about doing the job on location, and that hasn’t been done this time.” Blomquist’s comments underscore the depth of the setback for the Swedish team, traditionally a strong contender in women’s cross-country skiing.
Ebba Andersson and Emma Ribom will be the sole Swedish representatives in the race. Andersson acknowledged the unfortunate circumstances, telling SVT Sport, “It’s unfortunate. When we are such a strong nation as we are, there should be four athletes from the start, but now the situation is as it is, and I will try to make the most of the opportunity I have.”
Norwegian cross-country skiing icon Therese Johaug, now an expert commentator for NRK, expressed her sympathy for the Swedish team. “It’s very sad, they have trained hard to get here. Frida was a big favorite and in her best shape, it’s just sad,” she said to SVT Sport. Johaug added that while she might have attempted to compete with mild symptoms, a fever would preclude participation.
Stefan Thomson, the Swedish women’s team coach, responded to criticism regarding the lack of reserve athletes, stating, “Absolutely, these are things we need to accept with us. You always want to be able to have a full team at the Olympics. It happens every four years, so of course it feels a little frustrating.” Thomson confirmed that recalling additional athletes was not feasible given the timing of the recent illnesses. “Not in this situation. The last two cases came in the last 24 hours, and it was too late.”
Finland opted to recall Krista Pärmäkoski for the 50km race, but a similar solution was not considered for Sweden. According to Blomquist, Karlsson’s Olympic preparation had already been hampered by earlier issues with injuries and inconsistent results, following a strong start to the season at the World Cup premiere in Ruka. She subsequently withdrew from the Tour de Ski due to foot problems and took a break from training.
