Went to Paris round trip – just for the Olympic Games opening ceremony

The golfer Maja Stark loves being part of the Olympic Games. So much so that she went to Paris ten days in advance – just to be part of the opening ceremony.

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Went to Paris round trip – just for the Olympic Games opening ceremony
Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

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Maja Stark played unevenly but finished brilliantly at Le Golf National, a bit outside Paris.

Three birdies in the last four holes meant she came in on par, 72 strokes, and is in 13th place.

I didn't make that many putts. It was quite frustrating. But now at the end I found the right one, says Stark, who is seven strokes behind the leading Frenchwoman Celine Boutier.

I'll continue to be aggressive. Anything can happen here. If she (Boutier) is a little "off" from the tee, it can become a high score. But it's incredibly inspiring to see that she can play so well here in front of the home crowd, says Stark.

The 24-year-old Skåne native took a morning jog and also did mindfulness to shake off her Olympic Games nerves before her debut.

I knew it would be tough, so I've tried everything.

Most Swedish Olympic athletes chose to skip the opening ceremony on July 26 because it would take too much energy. Stark did the opposite and went to Paris just to participate in the spectacular boat parade along the Seine and visit the Olympic Village.

Then she went back home to Abbekås again.

It gave me a lot of energy and made me able to focus a bit more on the last training session at home, says Stark.

It was so incredibly cool to see everyone who has trained so hard. You get inspired by being around people who are so good at what they do.

Linn Grant, the other Swede in the competition, scored 74 strokes – two worse than Stark, and is in a tie for 30th place.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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