Jonna Sundling's focus on distance races

Fondoitalia.it met the young Swedish Cross-Country skier who talked about how she went through the disappointment of the sprint in Seefeld and her future intentions of becoming a skier in top position in distance races too.

Swedish sprinter Jonna Sundling now wants to extend her horizon: "I train to be an allround Cross-Country skier and thus also focus in distance races”.

After getting her first career victory at the sprint in Lillehammer at the beginning of last season, Jonna Sundling had good expectations of getting a medal during last Seefeld Nordic World Championships.
She then did not compete in the Tour de Ski in order to be in top shape for the sprint events in Tyrol that was raced in her most congenial technique: skating.
That day, after a regular qualification, everything was progressing well for Sundling in both quarter-finals and semi-finals, where she passed without problems. But then, during the final, at three hundred meters from the finish line, a banal contact with compatriot Maja Dahlqvist caused her to break the pole ending her dreams of getting a medal. Jonna, together with her teammates Nilsson and Dahlqvist, passed on the moment to Norwegian Maiken Caspersen Falla who then fled alone into the final straight.

Sundling still thinks about that unlucky episode during her summer preparation with the new coaches in the “trekroner“ Cross-Country team: “The episode with Maiken in Seefeld ‘s sprint has been a moment. Of course, I still think about it sometimes. Regrets remain. When I fell, I was one second behind Falla with only two turns from the finish line and that day I felt very well. If I could go back, I would certainly change the final result but now I want to move on and I want to forget it"__.

After her usual period of holidays in April, the 24 year-old Swedish Cross-Country skier, felt again more motivated than ever in facing the upcoming season. She will have to reconfirm herself in top positions of the discipline: "Certainly that casualty gives me a lot of extra motivation and desire for revenge in the new season. I am working very hard with my coaches during the preparation. It will be an additional push to try to win again"__.

The young scandinavian women from the Västerbotten region, managed to put her first World Cup victory in the books in Lillehammer. She continued the season on a high level and good health with two more podium finishes at the sprint in Dresden in January and at the Cross-Country finals in Quebec in late March.

If the last season was the breakthrough year to the sprint team in senior level, in the upcoming year - besides confirming herself as a Cross-Country sprint skier - she would like to raise the bar and take another step also in distance races. Already two seasons ago, during the Skellefteå Swedish Nationals in formats up to 10km, the gap to Kalla and Andersson was getting smaller and the same thing happened in last Word Cup finals Cross-Country’s in which she finished the mini tour at a remarkable sixth place- not far from Stina Nilsson and Therese Johaug.

Her open minded and happy person with a great inner serenity has always distinguished Jonna Sundling. She explained her plan of becoming an allrounder in Cross-Country skiing instead of focusing on being a sprint expert: “My peculiarity are those of sprinters, even when I was a Junior I got good results in some long distance races too. In particular I remember the skiathlon in Junior World Championships in Val di Fiemme in 2014. If after the ski change I hadn't broken my stick and had to go back to my coach to replace it, I could already get a medal in races from 10 km up. Of course sprints are natural races for my characteristics but I also want to improve myself as an allrounder. In addition, next season I would like to join the Tour de Ski for the first time in my career and I would like to finish it in the best way”.

In which aspect are you working mainly during this summer preparation?

"I want to be a better Cross-Country skier in all aspects. I am working a lot during this summer preparation. I want to do well in all situations, both in sprints that are my natural habitat, but at the same time I want to make further progress in distance races, something that has already happened in Quebec WC finals and during Swedish Nationals last spring”.

Last season all Swedish women got an awesome year, from sprinters to allrounders. More young promising Swedish women are coming to be in top position in future. What is the reason of this Swedish female team dominance?

"We as Swedish female athletes push each other during training and internal tests either. We are all very good friends. The results obtained by Charlotte Kalla and Anna Haag who have opened the road in the past have given us young skiers a great boost and new motivations. But at the moment I cannot say that we will be strong and dominant like Norway did in the past. Only future could express this judgment”.

What is your advice to FIS in order to increase worldwide interest in Cross-Country?

”I believe that FIS should primarily increase the image of us as real athletes during winter__s, highlighting our efforts. But it should also give athletes more visibility during the summer, perhaps doing more Roller Skiing competitions in larger cities. It would be a good thing for Cross-Country to highlight us athletes as we really are. Normal human beings”.

Is there any aspect in Cross-Country that has not your approval ? What is the low point of our discipline in your point of view?

"Surely skiing with difficult weather conditions doesn't give you much motivation, primarily racing with lots of wind. Even skiing sometimes with little snow around us is not the best from a scenic and a spectacular point of view. But it's also a bit part of the game considering what the global warming is causing in last few years”.

Do you consider yourself as a privileged person doing the discipline that you like right now ?

"I really like what I do every day as a top-level Cross-Country athlete. Cross-Country skiing is the best for me. When I was younger I didn't think skiing would be my job after school. I really like what I do now in my life, and every day my pleasure increases more and more”.

You have put your commitment and energy in Swedish  Organization “INTE ENSAM ALDRIG GLÖMD” who is helping victims of sexual abuse especially in childhood age . Could you tell us something more about that?

"A friend of mine in the past has been victim of this unpleasant situation years ago. So he asked me if I wanted to join them and raise awareness of their campaign. It is a cause that I care about a lot and I did this with great pleasure”.