Sweden’s Svahn misses Games due to shoulder injury
STOCKHOLM, November 10 (Reuters) – Sweden’s gold medal jump in cross-country skiing at the Beijing Olympics was hit when sprint specialist Linn Svahn said she would miss the games due to a shoulder injury.
Svahn said that doctors informed her after an operation two months ago that her shoulder, which she injured in a fall in Ulricehamn, Sweden in February, would not heal in time.
“Yesterday I lay on the floor, hugged my dog and just cried. It was probably the first time I cried like that in two, three years,” the 21-year-old tells Expressen.
Just before his autumn, Svahn made a brilliant victory in the classic World Cup race 10 km in Falun, Sweden, beat Norwegian rival and 14-time world champion Therese Johaug and raised hopes that the Swedes could challenge Norway’s dominance of the sport in Beijing.
Svahn plans to use the recovery period to become a better skier.
“I want to shape myself to be sharp on everything this winter – I want to be able to challenge the absolute best all-round skiers, and go for an overall victory in the World Cup,” she said.
Reporting by Philip O’Connor, Editing by Ed Osmond
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