The Skisporet Podcast: Linn Svahn
“I need to come out strong from this.”
The Swedish ski star confirms that this winter she has lost the opportunity to reach her biggest dream in her career: To participate in the Olympics.
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“It won't be the Olympics for me this winter. The damage has been found to be much more serious than we thought," says Linn Svahn in the podcast.
Throwing up from pain
The 21-year-old suffered a shoulder injury after a fall on skis last season. Back then she was unsure of the extent of the much-talked about injury, and even though she was struggling with pain for much of the time, the sprinter took part in the World Cup just a few weeks later.
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“I felt so bad after the crash that I threw up in the night.” Yet I didn't know how bad it was. At the time, I was thinking that I only had two weeks till the run of my life," says Svahn.
Talking about the injury: Linn Svahn opens up for the first time in the Skisporet podcast. Photo credit: Patrick Dougherty
What was supposed to be the run of her life ended with an exit in the semi-final. Svahn left an unsuccessful World Cup with the upcoming Olympic season in mind. The seasonal run-up started well before summer, but then the shoulder gradually got worse and worse.
Injury worse than expected
“For example, I could train for one day, but then I couldn't even lift a carton of milk the following day,” says the Swedish ski star."
When Svahn was a guest on the podcast about six weeks after the operation, she couldn't even lift her right arm above her shoulder. She would never have believed that it would turn so bad when in September she was only going to the hospital for a check-up on her shoulder.
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"I woke up after the operation and heard: 'Linn, it was much worse than we thought. It's possible for you to rehabilitate by yourself.' Hearing this was good for then I knew that an operation was the right way to go."
Before surgery: Linn Svahn trained well this summer, but then her shoulder gradually worsened.
Loses the dream of her life
Linn Svahn has now lost her life's big goal of taking part in the winter Olympics – at least for this time.
“How did you react to the message that you wouldn't be able to compete this season?”
Listen to the full episode of Linn Svahn on Apple Podcast.
“It was traumatic.” I was always thinking that I would resist anyone who didn't think I could participate in the Olympics, but when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do it, I was devastated. Losing the biggest goal in my career in a year where I had a great chance of doing really well is the worst thing that could have happened."
"I'm going to win everything!"
Svahn, who lives on the island of Frösön outside Östersund in Sweden, has invited Swix to visit her neighborhood. She shows us around the area where she dreams of the day she will have recovered from the horrible injury that will affect her skiing career.
Linn Svahn is the first guest on this season's skisporet podcast. Later in the season you will also get to know Swedish ski star Frida Karlsson better.
Ready to fight back: Linn Svahn looks forward to seeing how good she can get from training hard for 1.5 years.
She has chosen to turn her thoughts into something positive: In February 2023, the World Ski Championships will take place in Slovenia.
“I’m driven by doing something completely unique – something that no one else is doing. I now have the opportunity to set aside 1.5 years to just train. I’ll see how strong I can get from training hard for 1.5 years," she says and adds:
"Shall I tell you a secret in the podcast? I’ve already called my trainer Ola and said that we’ll win everything in the next World Cup!"
Linn Svahn trains and competes with Swix Triac 4.0 Aero skipoles. Outside national team assignments, she’s also a Swix ambassador for clothes.
Follow Swix Sport on Instagram to see all the photos from the photo shoot with Linn Svahn.
