September 17, 2025: In a long post on social media, an open-hearted Frida Karlsson talks about how her relationship with skiing has taken a turn for the worse. That everything has become too computer-controlled, with lactate values here and heart rate curves there.
"So maybe it's time to let go of control a little. Make room for play, for art, for emotion. Because when sports become more than just performance, then I think something magical happens," Karlsson wrote.
Decisive change
She therefore changed her approach for this season, back to a more playful and joyful approach. And now she stands here, with a heavy, golden Olympic medal around her neck.
Her first.
It feels magical, says Frida Karlsson.
Today is one of those days when it just clicks. You only have a few of those in a whole career. I really feel like I'm using the technique, being relaxed about it and just growing and growing during the race. It's like you're putting more wood on the fire and I just get hungrier and hungrier.
The courage to break away from the static and give more space to the "game" of skiing has been crucial to ending up here, says the 26-year-old.
It has meant a lot. I am so proud of the journey up to this day. It is probably the first time that I have felt that it's just fun to go out and compete, that I do not have any terrible feeling or anxiety. I have just felt longing.
“It may sound silly”
Speaking of play, by the way, she has called the Olympics "the last boss," like in a video game. The night before the gold race, she happened to see a clip of a man playing the "Super Mario Bros" vignette on the piano.
So then I felt, "Now I'm going out and facing Bowser (the final boss in Super Mario)."
It may sound silly, but I've really thought that the Olympics are the "final boss" of the game, that I'm really going out and doing what I love. And that seems to suit me.
She was in a class of her own in the race, not least during the final half of the freestyle. Silver medalist Ebba Andersson was 51 seconds behind even though Karlsson stopped and received a Swedish flag on the way up.
A moment so perfect that you barely dare to fantasize about it.
It was powerful. It's the kind of thought and image that you wouldn't dare dream of, but still a little bit, haha. I probably couldn't have wished for any other way to do it.
