Cross-country skiing: Johanna Hagstroem with her sights set on a medal
The world cross-country skiing championships in Trondheim (Norway) are fast approaching. Swedish sprinter Johanna Hagstroem is approaching the high point of the season with calm ambition. On the strength of her first World Cup victory this season in Ruka (Finland), the 26-year-old cross-country skier reveals her ambitions and looks back on her winter for Nordic Magazine.
- How are you feeling with just a few days to go before the start of the Worlds in Trondheim (Norway)?
I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be really fun, simply because the biggest goal of the season is just around the corner. Over the last few days, I’ve been trying to do as much as I can to feel good, recharge my batteries and relax. I’m feeling calm before the start of the Worlds.
- What will be your main objective in Norway?
My goal is a medal in the sprint. It’s the event in which I ski best. You’re always looking for a medal. Four years ago, I was so close to winning one [fourth in the sprint at the Oberstdorf World Championships in 2021, editor’s note], so that’s obviously my biggest goal. But it’s a really tough competition with a lot of very good cross-country skiers. You have to be at your best to succeed. You have to have a good day and good skis too. Everything has to line up perfectly.
“I felt a lot of positive energy after my first World Cup win. I felt more confident”.Johanna Hagstroem to Nordic Magazine
- You’ve been very consistent this year and you even won your first World Cup. That’s got to be good for your confidence…
Yes, of course, this victory was a big step for me [in the Ruka classic sprint, editor’s note]. I felt a lot of positive energy after my first World Cup win. I felt more confident. Of course, that means a lot, but now it’s been almost two months! It’s a new competition and a new stadium. Everything has been reset. So you have to work hard and hope that you’re in good shape. I was a bit ill over Christmas and New Year. My form hasn’t been the same since… I hope to be back in the same condition as at the start of the season.
- And yet, despite this illness, you have managed to bounce back well…
Yes, just before the World Cup in Les Rousses, I started to train a bit more to get ready for Trondheim. Maybe I wasn’t in the best shape for the competition there, but it was good [she finished seventh after winning the qualifiers, editor’s note]. I’m feeling better and better and I got some positive results in Falun [sixth, editor’s note]. I’ve still got a week to work on it and I hope I can keep improving.
- How did you feel when you contested one last race at home, in Falun, before leaving for Trondheim?
It’s always special to ski at home. It’s one of the biggest World Cup stages of the year. There’s always a good positive energy in Falun. It was really nice to ski fast there again. I didn’t perform very well on this piste two years ago, but this year it was much better.
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