Norwegian skiing star Therese Johaug is coming out of early retirement, saying she’d felt obliged to bow out after her latest Olympic success two years ago. Life had become more than skiing, and last year, she and her husband Nils Jakob Hoff became the parents of their daughter Ida.
Retiring “hurt,” she’s told reporters, because competitive skiing had become so much of her identity. She loved winning all her Olympic and World Championship medals, but it had also caused her great pain after being suspended in 2016 for having unwittingly used a lip balm that contained a banned substance.
Johaug made a triumphant comeback after that trauma and now she’s launching another. She’ll be back on the ski trails for Norway this season, with the aim of qualifying for, and winning, in the upcoming World Championships in Trondheim in February 2025.
She told newspaper Aftenposten that her new role as a mother has of course had an impact on everyday life, but she’s kept training all along. She’s already won nearly all the medals there are to win, but stressed that she still hasn’t won a 50-kilometer race, and the first such race for women will be part of the events in Trondheim next year. “I know I’m good at long distances,” she said.
She’s also still good in most all other events, and won a 30-kilometer race last spring at the Norwegian Championships in Lillehammer, beating her closest competitor by nearly three minutes. Now age 36, she’s gearing up for new races with the hopes of qualifying for the Norwegian team but remains level-headed. “If I don’t ski at the level I want, then I won’t go into the World Championships,” she told Aftenposten. “Then I want one of the other women to take my place.”
The goal, of course, is to qualify for the national team again and win more gold. “Nils Jakob and I are very much in agreement that I go for this,” she said. They decided they can manage on the home front with help from siblings and their parents.
She’ll also be training again under the supervision of her former teammate, Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Marit Bjørgen. “I get lots of advice from her,” Johaug said, “on everything from having energy for training to having a baby at home.” Bjørgen has also had children since retiring from professional skiing.
Swedish rivals, meanwhile, said they’re looking forward to Johaug’s comeback and wish her welcome. “We’ve just been waiting for this,” Maja Dahlqvist told news bureau NTB. “You always want the best to take part, so it will be exciting to see how she does.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
