Last weekend, it became clear that the 19-year-old Vasalopp winner Alvar Myhlback is making a commitment to the long-distance cup also in the future. I and junior national team coach Linda Danvind Malm have had talks with Alvar after the season. We have got a good picture of what he wants to do and it is clear that he wants to continue driving with his long-distance team and training in that environment, says national team manager Anders Byström.
Snubbed for the Junior World Championship
Formally, Myhlback belonged to the junior national team last season, but it was in the long-distance cup that he achieved with the victory in Vasaloppet as the crowning achievement.
In January, it made headlines when Myhlback – double Junior World Championship gold medalist 2024 – was rejected for the winter's junior World Championship because he did not meet the national team's requirement to participate in a qualifying competition for juniors in Sweden.
Also, next season, the 19-year-old was offered a place in the national team. But he has been clear that he wants to focus on his long-distance team, says Byström.
Was it not an option with a place in the development national team? No, it is primarily for seniors. Alvar has participated in some senior competitions this winter, but not particularly much. It was the junior national team primarily that he was offered, and then we knew that he had already thought of doing something else this summer. But we hope that he will be with us in winter and compete with us.
Current for the Olympic Games?
It is unclear how much traditional cross-country skiing there will be for Myhlback in winter, but it is not excluded that the talent will become current for the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina in February. I hope that he will choose to ski traditionally in winter, even if he does not know it yet. For if he can qualify against the World Cup and possibly the Olympic Games and World Championship in the future, we are grateful for that, if he has reached that level. We hope so, says Byström.
Also, other skiers outside the national team, for example, veteran Calle Halfvarsson, have the opportunity to reach the Olympic Games. You must perform to get out on the World Cup and then perform there as well, but those who stand outside have the same as everyone else when it comes to getting to the Olympic Games. It's just about performing in the qualifying competitions that we set up, says Anders Byström.
