Khaddi Sagnia belonged to the world elite and, in addition to the only championship medal at senior level so far – the bronze at the European Championship indoors in Polish Torun 2021 – she was also ninth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and sixth at the World Championship in Eugene 2022.
Then came the misery.
Missed the Olympic Games
Illness and injuries meant that the last two years did not turn out as the star had wished, as she missed the European Championship in Rome and the Olympic Games in Paris, among other things.
Athletics is what I love most, and when you train for something and are met with obstacles, it becomes very frustrating. It's super, super tough, says Sagnia.
I really live for this, and it's sad not to be able to do what you want to do.
How did the situation affect your daily life?
I had to find other things to cheer me up.
Like what?
I'm a family person, so I spent a lot of time with them, my friends, and did things that weren't sports-related. Then I traveled and tried to think about something else.
The 30-year-old had a hard time letting go of athletics and felt that something had to be done, she needed to leave safe Gothenburg and find a new challenge.
Last autumn, the thoughts landed on the decision to leave Ullevi for Göta, Gothenburg for Karlstad, and switch coaches from Katrin Klaup to Anders Möller.
Shortly after, the star headed north. She wanted to get started with the new group as soon as possible, initially commuting and then living in a hotel for a while.
Now she has an apartment in town.
Thriving in Karlstad
I'm thriving super well. I love the hall and have fit in well with the group. And getting to train with others, that's what I've really missed, says she.
Sagnia, who is still getting to know Karlstad, no longer feels the knee that was troublesome earlier, she's going 100 percent and looks bright on the year ahead.
But what it will look like, she doesn't know.
The indoor championships in Dutch Apeldoorn, the European Championship, and in Chinese Nanjing, the World Championship, are on the athletics competition calendar for March. Further ahead, in September, another World Championship will be decided in Tokyo.
Khaddi Sagnia hasn't noted anything about the competitions.
Instead, she's focusing on being here and now, and having a focus on what coach Anders Möller wants her to do.
That's up to him. He has control over what he wants me to do before we go out and compete, says she.
I'm waiting a bit and seeing how it goes.
Born: April 20, 1994.
Event: Long jump.
Achievements: European Indoor Championship bronze 2021, World Championship seventh 2015, European Indoor Championship sixth 2018, Olympic Games ninth 2021, World Championship sixth 2022. Additionally, 15 Swedish Championship gold medals (8 outdoor, 7 indoor).
Current: Made a big change last autumn, when she moved from Gothenburg to Karlstad and switched coaches from Katrin Klaup to Anders Möller.
