Frida Westman suffered a severe knee injury during the late summer of 2023. Her career had to be put on hold, and it wasn't until the World Championship competition in Trondheim that she was back in the competition arena.
The 24-year-old finished 37th in the qualifying round and thus became one of the 40 who get to jump in Friday's final in the normal hill.
"It was pretty tough"
It feels cool. The goal is the second round tomorrow. It's just a matter of reloading, says Westman, who scored 95.2 points after a jump of 88 meters.
If she is to reach the second round in the World Championship final, she needs to finish top 30 in the first round. At the same time, it was a victory in itself to just be competing again after the long injury hell.
When I think about it, I get really proud and happy. It's not self-evident that I would be standing here today. It was pretty tough, she says.
I still get a little moved and happy. It's hard to put words to everything, when it has felt so dark and now I'm standing here. I try to remind myself of what I've done, she says further.
Aiming for a second Olympic Games
Three years ago, Westman became the first Swede to participate in an Olympic ski jumping event, and in November 2022, she took her first podium place in the World Cup.
Now she's looking ahead to the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina next year.
The Olympic Games have been a goal for me for a very long time, says Frida Westman.
For World Championship debutant Jenny Forsberg, it stopped in the qualifying round. She finished 53rd with 73.6 points after a jump of 80 meters.
Slovenian Nika Prevc won the qualifying round (147.6 points/99.5 meters) ahead of Norwegian Anna Odine Strøm (139.7/101.5) and third-placed Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Austria (137.1/95).
