Maja Dahlqvist went into the previous World Cup season as the reigning champion in sprint. However, already in early October, she had felt that something was wrong, and in the premiere in Ruka in November, she finished 34th in the sprint qualification.
It feels like I'm not the one skiing. Like I'm skiing with a taped-up nose, taped-up mouth, and have to max out for three minutes, she said after the race.
"Special season"
That's how it continued, in principle, throughout the winter.
It was a damn special season for me. I had the world's best training summer, the best ever, and was stronger in all the tests, says Maja Dahlqvist during the high-altitude training camp in Italian Lavazé.
The strength was gone in the tracks when the competition season started.
It was a little mystery – I still don't know what the biggest reason was. I had, for example, very high pulse for nothing, but I wasn't generally tired.
Several tests didn't provide an answer to the riddle either.
It must have just been too much. That the training became too stressful for the body, and it just said no. That's the only reasonable theory I can think of.
Despite the tough season, she achieved three podium finishes in the World Cup and finished fourth overall in the sprint cup.
It feels like it should have been impossible with the body I had all season.
Moved to Trondheim
When the last competition was over, the 30-year-old chose to take a long break.
It has slowly but surely started to feel better and better. I haven't become more tired or worse from training a lot. I think it's just time that has done its job.
Now Dahlqvist is looking forward to a new season, and she has moved from Falun to Norwegian Trondheim with her boyfriend Kevin Bolger, who is an American national team skier.
I was eager to try something new. Kevin had been in Trondheim six summers before and thought it was the best place on earth to train.
There, she can often ski on the World Championship tracks – the championship will be decided in Trondheim at the end of February and beginning of March.
They have a roller ski track on the entire competition track. So, that's very motivating in itself. It adds an extra spice to the training.
Daniel Kihlström/TT
Facts: Maja Dahlqvist
TT
Born: April 15, 1994.
Club: Falun-Borlänge SK.
Lives: Trondheim.
Main merits: Two World Championship gold medals in team sprint (2019 and 2021), two Olympic silver medals in sprint and team sprint (2022), one Olympic bronze medal in relay (2022), two World Championship bronze medals in sprint and relay (2023), winner of the overall sprint cup in the World Cup twice (2021–2022 and 2022–2023).
