Jamina Roberts is doing her fourth Olympic Games. And her 17th major championship in total.
But the handball veteran was close to quitting the national team early in her career.
After five championships on the bench... I felt that "this is the last time", she says.
Jamina Roberts made her championship debut in the European Championship 2010, barely two weeks after her national team debut.
Since then, she has participated in six more European Championships, six World Championships, and now her fourth Olympic Games.
There is a big difference compared to the Olympic debutants in the team, Evelina Eriksson, Sofia Hvenfelt, Tyra Axnér, and Nina Koppang.
We have tried to prepare the younger players as well as possible. It's a big deal with an Olympic Games. You can't escape it, says Jamina Roberts.
Handball is the same, though. We don't need to prepare them for that. But there's a lot of other things.
The 34-year-old left winger has since her debut played 234 national team matches and scored 604 goals.
But it wasn't far from her quitting already after the European Championship 2014, after several championships in a row with a lot of bench-sitting.
"Not super motivating"
The first championship I played more than I thought. But then it was the bench for a few years, says Jamina Roberts.
It sounds like you were about to lose faith early in your national team career?
Yes, well, after five championships on the bench... I felt that "this is the last time". It wasn't super motivating.
But that's how it is when you're young. You can't believe you'll get to play right away, but it was tough, it was.
Eleven championships later, there's no doubt that Jamina Roberts will get a lot of playing time in Paris. The expectations are high, both from outside and from herself.
I feel a slightly different pressure than I maybe did ten championships ago, she says.
We all need to perform, but I have the expectations on myself first and foremost. It can sometimes stress me out if I feel I'm not quite there.
Medals in the car?
In 16 championships so far, the best result has been two European Championship bronzes. Last time, at the World Championship last winter, it was a disappointing fourth place after losing to Denmark in the bronze match.
And in the previous Olympic Games, it was a fourth place after losing to Norway.
A Olympic medal would therefore be nice.
It's clear that it would be big. But the medal itself... I have some national championship medals lying in the car. It's not like the medal itself would make me that much, says Jamina Roberts.
But it's more about the performance, doing it. I still feel that in the last Olympic Games, even though we came fourth, it feels like we won.
Sweden meets Norway in the Olympic premiere in Paris on July 25.
Born: May 28, 1990.
Position: Left winger.
Club: Vipers Kristiansand (2022–).
Previous clubs: Sävehof (–2014, 2016–2017), Tvis Holstebro, Denmark (2014–2016), Erdi, Hungary (2017–2018), Randers, Denmark, (2018–2020), Sävehof (2020–2022).
National team matches/goals: 234/604.
Best national team merits: European Championship silver 2010, European Championship bronze 2014.
Championships: 17 including this summer's Olympic Games.
(European Championship 2010, World Championship 2011, Olympic Games 2012, European Championship 2012, European Championship 2014, World Championship 2015, Olympic Games 2016, European Championship 2016, World Championship 2017, European Championship 2018, World Championship 2019, European Championship 2020, Olympic Games 2021, World Championship 2021, European Championship 2022, World Championship 2023, Olympic Games 2024).
