Frida Karlsson on new investment in sprinting: "Goes hand in hand with the WC"

Frida Karlsson says she found more right as a skier. That's why the 27-year-old is now more tentative about quitting after this season, from sounding certain a couple of years ago.

- I have booked a meeting, me and myself, after the season where we will have a vote, she tells DN and laughs.

She states that in a way the timing for an end is still perfect, with the home WC in Falun and then the SC competitions on her real home turf: Hallstaberget in Sollefteå.

- I'm a bit torn because I really love skiing, what I'm doing right now. It's such a great match for me, but when they ask "what do you want to do after?" so the answer is rather "what do I not want to do?".

One of the dreams is to run a small hotel. It is clear that she knows she has time, even if the skiing career continues for a few more years, but she says that the feeling is that time is passing so quickly. She noted that it has been over seven years since she started riding at senior level.

- I'm getting old, she says with another laugh.

In recent years, she has had problems with a troublesome left foot that prevented her from competing as much as she wanted. Now she says that the foot is "as good as it can be".

- I will live with it. I kind of have to keep it balanced and we know what to do now, from the first symptoms, so I don't let it get bad.

The foot situation opens the way for the idea she has – to take back her place in the sprint. No easy task in the world's best sprint team (her teammates Linn Svahn, Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist took all the medals at the Olympics, for example).

- But I don't want to put myself in the category that I'm only a distance skier, but I want to go to all competitions. I want to call myself a skier and the World Cup is an interesting and great fun concept.

Frida Karlsson has shown her versatility as a skier during her career, including the overall victory in the Tour de Ski 2023. She has her championship medals in distance races but has been in the sprint final in eight World Cup races and stood on the podium as second once, but the last time was three seasons ago.

She says that the World Cup is tickling this year and that speed training does not obscure the view of the main goal.

- Working towards the distances in the WC and getting better at sprinting go hand in hand, because the courses in Falun are not as endurance-demanding as we are used to in championships. So I think that if you go to get a little faster, it will benefit the distance races there as well.