– I was lying in bed and saw “Oi, have I made up my mind for the WC in Trondheim?” Jeez, have I decided? Who has decided that? At least not me! So that door there is still very much open whether it will or not. At least I can confirm that: That I have not decided at all.
That’s what Therese Johaug says to NRK after her first ski race in almost two years resulted in a crushing victory.
Johaug won the 17 kilometer long Engadin Frauenlauf race in Switzerland on Sunday morning. The retired ski queen showed her old ways of greatness and won the race with a time of 44.07.7.
In second place in Sunday’s race came Johaug’s old rival Justyna Kowalczyk with a time of 47.44.9, a full 3.37 minutes behind her Norwegian competitor.
STAR TRIO: Justyna Kowalczyk, Marit Bjørgen and Therese Johaug were both fierce competitors and big stars.
Photo: Ã…serud, Lise / NTB scanpix
Decision before the summer
The 35-year-old, who retired after the 2021/22 season, stated in an interview with the organizer of the Engadin Skimarathon that she could imagine competing in the WC five-mile in Trondheim. It was mentioned by a number of media, both Norwegian and international, on Saturday.
Then Johaug was surprised.
Speaking to NRK on Sunday, she emphasizes that she has not decided yet, but is clear that a decision must be made before the summer.
– Now I want to use the time well ahead to try to train myself, get back to a suitable form and make the decision in due course. Whether I know that this or right or not.
Should Johaug aim for the WC 2025?
The Dalsbygda Express says that this was a kind of first test on the way to a decision on the issue that is currently preoccupying Ski-Norge. Will she make a comeback towards next year’s WC in Trondheim?
– It was really fun to wear the starting number again. It’s been two years since the last time, so I was a bit unsure before the start if I had forgotten old routines. But when the starting shot went off, I quickly got back into it, Johaug tells NRK.
– It was a kind of first test, of course. It’s always like that, wearing a race number and feeling what feelings you have about it, how it has felt to be away from Kristin (the daughter) for a while. There are quite a few aspects here. So it was perhaps a small start to a decision eventually, she says.
PEOPLE’S FAVORITE: Therese Johaug during her last Holmenkollen race in 2022. There she was praised by the Norwegian people.
Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
– I don’t think she will win the NM
This was Johaug’s first race since she won the Skarverennet on 23 April 2022, and the first since she became a mother to her daughter Kristin on 17 May last year. In other words, the form is not quite where it used to be, despite Sunday’s blowout win.
– It’s a long way from Fraulauf in the Engadin to the World Cup, so to speak. But I will at least take it with me that I think it was fun to compete and that it doesn’t feel like a “chop’s gale”.
The women’s cross-country coach Stig Rune Kveen is unsure how much to put into Johaug’s crushing return to the competition track.
– It is very difficult to say how good Kowalczyk is, I had expected her to win by more. Is that right for me to say? I have no idea. It was probably good, says Kveen to NRK.
NATIONAL TEAM COACH: Stig Rune Kveen.
Photo: NTB
– She has said that she will probably compete in the three-mile race in NM part 2, how excited are you about what she can achieve in such a race against the other best in Norway?
– I think she can assert herself very well, she is a lady with a lot of training in her body. You see, Petter (Northug) has given up and returned. She will be paid for everything she has done in the past. I’m not worried that she won’t go fast, but if she wins the NM, it’s hard to say. I actually don’t think so, he says.
To that Johaug replies:
– He may be right. The only thing I have competed in for two years is the Frauenlauf here, and it is difficult to say what the level is like. The girls who are out and going to the World Cup have a very high level, so I don’t expect that I will win a NM if I go.
Swedes are hoping for a comeback
Jonna Sundling, who came fifth in Sunday’s sprint in Lahti, hopes Therese Johaug makes a comeback.
– It doesn’t feel like she’s been gone that long. I think she still has a lot in her and that she can perform very well, she says to NRK.
STAR: Jonna Sundling.
Photo: Ulf Palm / AP
– Do you want her back?
– Absolutely, I miss her, says Sundling.
One who may not have missed Johaug as much is Czech Katerina Janatova. She is worried about her own World Cup points if Johaug makes a comeback.
– I think she can be just as good. She knows what it takes and has the perseverance. It’s going to ruin my FIS points again. It’s amazing what she can do. It will be a cool day if she comes back.
Klæbo predicts a podium place
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo tells NRK that he is absolutely certain that we will see Johaug on the starting line when the WC in Trondheim gets underway. He was not surprised by Johaug’s victory in Switzerland, and hopes she makes a comeback.
– Yes, that is, she has to decide that herself, but she is a profile that will help to benefit the sport of cross-country skiing. I would certainly claim that, says Klæbo.
The sprint king, who won Sunday’s sprint in Lahti, believes Johaug had done well.
– Femmila is in any case 2,500 meters in altitude if I have understood correctly. There will be some hills to walk and last time I checked she was quite good on hills. My guess is that she will be on the podium anyway. That should not be ignored, says Klæbo.
It is particularly the WC five-mile on 9 March 2025 that Johaug has highlighted as a possible target.
She already has 14 WC gold medals, but is tempted to try to take number 15 at a distance that did not exist for women the last time she was active.
NRK expert: – She is on track
NRK expert Fredrik Aukland, like Kveen, is sober when he has to describe how much to put into Sunday’s Johaug victory.
NRK EXPERT: Fredrik Aukland
Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB
– It is difficult to say how good that race is, because it is not a yardstick at the international top level. But the fact that she skis with her starting number on her chest and is in good shape, there is no doubt about that, says Aukland.
He has worked with Johaug throughout this season as a cross-country expert for NRK.
– I have seen that she is on track with training. So if she is interested and wants to do that job and facilitates it with her family situation, she can come back in as good shape as before, he believes.
Facts about Therese Johaug
Expand/minimize fact box
* Name: Therese Johaug
* Born: 25 June 1988 (age 35)
* Club: Nansen
* Merit: Olympics: 4 gold (10 km 2022, skiathlon 2022, 30 km 2020, relay 2010), silver (30 km 2014), bronze (10 km 2014)
* WC: 14 gold (skiathlon 2021, relay 2021, 10 km 2021, 30 km 2021, 30 km 2019, 10 km 2019, skiathlon 2019, 30 km 2015, relay 2015, skiathlon 2015, relay 2013, 10 km 2013, relay 2011 , 30 km 2011), 2 silver (relay 2019, skiathlon 2013), 3 bronze (30 km 2013, 15 km 2011, 30 km 2007)
* World Cup: 82 individual victories and three overall victories (2020, 2016 and 2014)
(Source: NTB)
Johaug is fully aware that enormous expectations will arise from her if she chooses to bet against the WC.
– I know that no one will be happy if I finish fourth, and everyone wants me to win gold. That’s also my goal, but if I’m going to participate in Trondheim, I have to qualify and know which races I have to run in order to make it. I’m not going to go for an entire World Cup season, she says.
Johaug is associated with NRK as a cross-country expert. NRK makes editorial assessments independently of this.
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