It's like a curse, says national team coach Stefan Thomson when he meets the press at the World Championship arena Granåsen an hour before the women's sprint qualification is about to start the championship. It's easy to understand what he means.
Linn Svahn finally entered a championship with a positive feeling. She was forced to leave the World Championship before it even started.
It's incredibly sad for Linn. And that it should happen on such an unfortunate occasion. Now she was in great shape. I feel very sorry for her, says Thomson.
Impossible to continue
A crash during Wednesday's training – Svahn hit her head and suffered a concussion in the downhill section towards the stadium – puts a stop to her participation.
Unfortunately, it hasn't turned out well, it's a clear concussion and she's now following a concussion protocol. She still has headaches, nausea, and is sensitive to light, says national team doctor Rickard Noberius.
Continuing to compete was completely out of the question.
The big risk is if she crashes again, it can have fatal consequences, so it's not an option to expose herself to such a risk. It can cause problems that last for a long time.
Just a few days ago, a relaxed Linn Svahn stood and told us that she had finally been able to prepare as she wanted for a championship.
It's the first time I've stood here at a press conference and had the feeling that I've had two weeks with flawless preparations, she said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Several years of injuries
Before the World Championship in Oberstdorf 2021, Svahn was in top form when she fell and injured her shoulder. She still made it to the start of the World Championship sprint, but missed the final. The shoulder injury later proved to be much more serious than expected and she missed both the subsequent World Cup season and the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022.
In the days leading up to this year's World Championship, there has been a lot of talk about the icy tracks in Trondheim. It had nothing to do with Svahn's crash, emphasizes Stefan Thomson.
It was an accident. They came close to each other in the downhill section, as you do when you're testing. Then she got backwards and spun around. And she fell so unfortunately that her head hit. It could have happened to anyone and anywhere, says Thomson.
Märta Rosenberg, 22, replaces Svahn in today's sprint.
