Cross-country skiing: a new start in the United States
In recent months, Erica Laven, the 20-year-old Swedish cross-country ski hopeful, surprised the Nordic world by announcing her departure for Salt Lake City in the United States.
The skier from Åsarna (Sweden), regarded as one of the best up-and-coming cross-country skiers in the country, made her World Cup debut at the end of last season, before finishing sixth in the sprint at the Junior World Championships.
Since then, Erica Laven has decided to pack her bags and move to Jessie Diggins’ homeland to study at the University of Utah. At the same time, she continued to train hard, eventually becoming important to the Swedish national team. “It’s actually bigger than I imagined,” she tells SVT Sport.
Success at the US championships
The Swede quickly made her mark in the USA. At the American championships in early January, she won gold in the sprint, silver in the mass start classic and bronze in the individual skate.
These promising results have raised the question of her departure from Sweden. The young woman explains this by the fierce and highly competitive nature of the national team. The United States gives her more room to progress and develop. “In Sweden, you have to be part of a team to take part in the big races. That’s when the national team can help you in your career, and if you choose to train and perform yourself, it becomes a challenge, particularly in terms of earning a living”, says Erica Laven.
That’s why the USA was such an obvious choice for the young woman. Her sister had already studied there, and she was able to combine her studies in business administration with funding for the season. “There are other opportunities here where you can train full-time and get paid at the same time,” she enthuses.
A new start that the Swedish junior sprint champion has no regrets: “Everyday life is very similar to high school. You wake up, train, eat, then train again and so on. It’s very comfortable to carry on in the same way, and I enjoy it.”
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