Cross-country skiing : Therese Johaug sets the record straight
There was no room for competitors this Friday in the individual skate of the cross-country skiing world cup in Lillehammer (Norway). Untouchable Therese Johaug returned to the top of a circuit she hadn’t been on for more than two years after announcing her retirement from the sport.
Winner after 10 kilometres of the difficult Scandinavian track , the Norwegian put everyone in agreement by beating two of her compatriots, Heidi Weng and Astrid Oeyre Slind. The 36-year-old cross-country skier savoured her return to the top of the rankings.
“It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s an incredible pleasure to do a race like this on home soil. After the Ruka races, where I received a lot of criticism for not winning, it feels good,” she told TV2. I’m very satisfied with my efforts. Today, the loser has become a winner.
These comments are reminiscent of those made by Tomas Petterson, a Swedish journalist with the daily Expressen, who described Therese Johaug as the “big loser” of the opening weekend in Finland following her second and fourth place finishes in the individual classic and mass start skate.
A statement that left the four-time Olympic champion thirsting for revenge: “When I arrived at the site yesterday, I was seething inside. I told myself I was going to fight hard right to the end”, she says.
Read also
- Lillehammer: in the individual skate, Therese Johaug scores her first success since her return, Flora Dolci still close to the top 10
- Therese Johaug’s return criticised by a Swedish journalist
