With 70 days left until the World Championship in Trondheim (February 26–March 9), the national ski team is doing the same as it did two years ago and is selecting four skiers for the championship. This year, they are Jonna Sundling, Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, and Johanna Hagström.
"The reason is that we want to give these skiers extra time to prepare for the World Championship and thus a sense of calm to be able to perform as well as possible when it counts in February," says Anders Byström in a press release.
"Those who are now selected are both reigning champions who thereby have their own guaranteed spots at the World Championship, but also athletes who have already performed at such a high level during the first period of the World Cup that they are obvious choices for the World Championship team."
Johanna Hagström, 26, has had a good start to the season and won the sprint in the World Cup premiere in Ruka and came second in Lillehammer.
"Johanna Hagström has had to fight for her spot all the way to the final selection at the last championships, but this time she has impressed so much that we see her as one of the five ladies who will compete in the sprint at the World Championship."
Hagström had a feeling that she would be selected already now.
"But I was very happy about the call. It's clear that it's really nice to secure a spot on the team. Not least because you can plan your training towards the World Championship already now, where you don't need to peak in form in the same way before the World Cup to secure a World Championship spot. Now it can be a completely different focus towards Trondheim," she says.
