Edvin Anger, 22, has shown that there is hope for Swedish men's cross-country skiing.
He is second in the total World Cup and is a medal hope when the World Championship in Trondheim begins with sprint on Thursday.
Gunde Svan sees several similarities between himself and Anger:
In the sense that you want to ski everything when you're in good form. He's certainly not used to thinking about the World Championship at this point. It was the same with me. I couldn't lose to (Thomas) Wassberg. Not even in a relay competition. It was always full speed when you were that age.
”The stove is hot”
Svan mentions Anger's biggest challenge:
When you're in top form, you just want to compete because it's so much fun. Then it's about being able to raise your sights and think about what's best in the long run, which is extremely difficult. It's like teaching children that the stove is hot if you've just lit a fire in it. It doesn't matter how many times you say it. They have to burn themselves to understand that it's hot.
Edvin Anger laughs and responds:
Yeah, it's a bit like that. I'll try to solve it maturely and I won't get burned. I understand the concern, but I'm young and hungry and see no limitations in myself.
A choice
Thomas Wassberg ponders how Edvin Anger will manage to be both a sprint and distance skier.
It's a difficult balancing act. If you want to be the best in sprint, you'll easily become worse in distance and vice versa. Only Edvin can decide what's best for him.
Wassberg continues:
In the future, he can become a better distance skier. When you're older, you become a bit slower at the same time as your speed disappears.
Edvin Anger:
My goal is to become a good distance skier. I'm on the right track. But it will take a few years before I become a consistently good distance skier.
Both Gunde Svan and Thomas Wassberg have high hopes for the talent ahead of the World Championship in Trondheim:
I think he'll take a podium spot. First and foremost in sprint, but it's not unthinkable that it happens in some distance event, says Wassberg.
If he can maintain his form, it will go fantastically well. But it's hard as a 22-year-old to maintain form for several months, adds Svan.
