By Philip O’Connor
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) – Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund stood at the gate for her four-woman Olympic ski cross final and promised herself that she wasn’t going to have a repeat of the 2018 final, where she was the only one who went home empty-handed after coming fourth.
Minutes later, she zoomed across the finish line to claim her first Olympic gold at her third Olympic Games and a wave of emotions washed over her.
“I was actually thinking about it (Pyeongchang) a little bit at the start. I made it to the final, but after that I was still focused on what to do,” Naeslund told reporters.
For all her glittering wins, especially this past season, her career had been that of the nearly woman in a sport where fractions of seconds matter.
She managed a fifth place on her Olympic debut in Sochi in 2014, fourth in Pyeongchang and then blew out her knee in November 2020, causing her to miss most of last season.
She came back a new woman, winning a world championship gold in her first race back on home snow in Sweden that put her on course to her Beijing success.
“I think today it was just really, really focused on what to do, and I kind of realised just when I passed the finish line that this is the Olympic final,” a relieved Naeslund said.
“I just was here to show what I can do today. I’m so happy that I managed to ski so good all day.”
Naeslund revealed that her new-found confidence has played a big part in her making it to the top step of the Olympic podium.
“I’ve been skiing really good. I guess when you get the feeling that everything is pretty easy … you get one win, you get another, and then it just keeps rolling,” she said.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Additional reporting by Winni Zhou and Mari Saito; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
