France is in a class of its own. They won 13 medals in Antholz, six of them gold, followed by Norway with ten medals, three of which were gold.
Sweden returns from the Olympics in Italy with a gold, Martin Ponsiluoma in the pursuit, a silver in the women's relay and a bronze in the men's relay.
The World Championships here in 2020, my first championship as head coach, were some of my toughest days at work (a bronze). In the Olympics this year we turned the page from that gold medal. Then it felt like it came loose, and it is above all the relay double that I am proud of, says Johannes Lukas when he sums up the championship for Swedish media after the women's mass start.
Proud in an hour
We are third in the medal league, behind France and Norway. Above all, France has brutally good material in this championship and an incredible breadth among skiers. We are having a good championship that we will be incredibly proud of in a few hours.
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And when he thinks back to the last day of the Olympics, it is not Anna Magnusson's lost medal that he will remember.
"I see a girl who fought back after almost quitting and who fought for medals until the last 400 meters. If you think differently, you go crazy in this sport," says Lukas.
“It's brutal”
How, then, will Sweden be able to approach the great nation of France?
They have an incredible breadth; we saw that when we were at the camp there. It's not just 20-30 young people, we're talking about several hundred. It's brutal, says Lukas.
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It's about a comprehensive effort, that's the vision the association has. That we work with many young athletes, that more activities are built, that we help the ski high schools even more. That's the only way; it's not tinkering with a few last screws in this team that will bring about long-term change.
