Frida Karlsson on medal miss: “Has to struggle too much”

Frida Karlsson had a tiring skiathlon over 20 km. The dream of a World Championship gold ended with her being a disappointed fourth. - "I am very disappointed, I have to struggle too much in the classical to have anything left to be in it today," Karlsson told SVT Sport.

What went wrong during the classical?

• "Either I'm very tense, I don't know. I didn’t get the skis down and couldn’t ski relaxed, and too much energy went away," Karlsson explained.

Karlsson hadn’t competed since her dominant victory in Les Rousses on January 19 and had only trained and prepared for the championship in Trondheim to aim for her first individual World Championship gold. - "I am a blank sheet," Karlsson said before the start.

"Felt quite far away"

At the ski exchange halfway through the classical segment, Karlsson was 8.9 seconds behind leading Heidi Weng. Karlsson then skied with Astrid Öyre Slind, who kicked away a ski during the exchange and lost 7-8 seconds.

Despite her best efforts to chase the quartet of Johaug, Heidi Weng, Ebba Andersson, and Jonna Sundling, Karlsson found herself back in medal contention after falls by Sundling and Weng but ultimately finished fourth.

• "It was not just anyone I was sprinting against, so it felt pretty far away," said Karlsson.

Explore highlights from the World Championship in Trondheim.