The Swedish star put in an impressive performance in Cortina and took gold in a landslide, by a full 1.71-second margin over French favorite Aurélie Richard.
"I'm so damn proud. I've never been so nervous. I was so focused on the start and it felt like I needed to go to the bathroom all the time; things were happening in my stomach all the time," says Årsjö in SVT's broadcast.
“Much cooler”
That a gold medal in the discipline would even be possible had long been uncertain. Årsjö has previously collected Paralympic titles in super combined and slalom, and at the Para World Championships she has also won gold in parallel slalom, super-G and giant slalom. But the downhill has long been missing from her already impressive list of achievements.
"It's so cool to win downhill gold! It's much cooler than slalom and everything. It feels so damn awesome," she says.
Årsjö also describes the course in Cortina as super challenging.
The background is her muscle weakness in her right leg - a result of the congenital disease Klippel-Trenaunay. The downhill race in particular, with its high speeds and heavy loads, has therefore been extra painful. It was something she didn't think about when she secured the gold.
"No, I had too much adrenaline and Ipren. So it will come later," she says.
“Now I'm starting to cry”
After several years of absence, she made a comeback in the discipline in February. Expectations were still cautious ahead of the Games, despite her winning bronze in downhill at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics.
But there was never any doubt about it. Årsjö's decision to compete in the downhill resulted in Sweden's first gold medal of the Paralympics.
In the stands, Ebba Årsjö's parents cheered, which she noticed and was touched by.
"It's absolutely crazy. They're sitting there. Now I'm starting to cry; it's unreal," she says.
Now she is going to fulfill the Swedish medal goal for the Paralympics of four medals all by herself. She will also compete in slalom, giant slalom, super-G and combined.
"I'll really try," she says.
