As the reigning silver medalist, Emma Ribom had high hopes for the individual sprint at the World Championships in Trondheim last winter. But the competition ended early, already in the quarterfinals, after Ribom suffered from atrial fibrillation and was therefore unable to perform at her peak.
After the season, she has tried to get to the bottom of what happened, and now she feels calm enough to move forward without any worries about her heart.
Don't want to tell everything
It was really trying to do an evaluation after last year. We spent time finding things around the heart and other parts. So it still felt safe to investigate it and have a good idea of what we think going forward.
So today it's not something I think about. I've gotten good help. It could absolutely happen again but I'm not afraid.
What did you come up with?
That it can probably happen to athletes if you put a strain on your body. But then I think I'll keep a little for myself too.
Affected by Cold too
She is not the first Swedish cross-country star to suffer from something like this. Legendary Charlotte Kalla suffered atrial fibrillation during the World Cup premiere in Ruka in 2016 and Jörgen Brink suffered the same thing during his final leg of the World Cup relay in Val di Fiemme in 2003.
Kalla later won both Olympic and World Cup gold medals, and Brink won Vasaloppet three times in the early 2010s, among other things.
Emma Ribom also dreams of new successes in the future – with the Olympics in Italy in February as the season's big goal.
There have been some bumps in the road, but overall I am incredibly proud of the journey I have made over the summer and fall. It has been a journey, after all. Then we will see what is enough.
