It was in a curve early in the second quarterfinal heat that Norwegian Ane Appelkvist Stenseth slipped and pushed Svahn out of the track. The Swede had no chance to save the situation and drove off the track at full speed – but somehow managed to stay on her feet.
I was actually nervous. I felt that it was close to not going well. I'm disappointed that the day ended like this, but I'm quite relieved that I didn't get hurt, says Svahn.
Saturday's sprint premiere in Finnish Ruka didn't turn out as Svahn, who won five World Championship sprint races last season, had hoped. Especially not after the strong performance in the qualifying round earlier in the day, where Svahn was the third fastest.
I'm a bit annoyed and a bit scared, but I'm fine.
It didn't go well for Stenseth either. The Norwegian fell and also took her compatriot Hedda Østberg Amundsen with her into the snow, which meant that both missed out on advancing.
I think it might have been an ice patch that caused the trouble and it became a domino effect so that three of us crashed. Or I was standing on my feet, but I drove straight out into the woods, says Linn Svahn.
It's sour for everyone. Everyone wants to start the World Championship season in a good way and for three to crash in the quarterfinals, it's just incredibly sad.
The competition is ongoing.
