The World Championships in Trondheim were a perfect hit: three gold medals and a championship for the history books. This winter, things have been slower. Can the 28-year-old Swede still time her peak and become the star once again?

Ebba Andersson has grown tougher. The tiny girl who suddenly beat all the seniors as a junior is now confident enough to speak openly about her own chances, saying outright that she is one of the favorites.

That is a clear sign of how far she has come.

Some may remember the SVT clip in which a 10-year-old Ebba talks about looking up to her role model, Charlotte Kalla – a sweet feature that could have been about any one of thousands of young cross-country talents in Sweden.

But the 10-year-old from Sollefteå had something extra, something the others could not match.

Those of us who followed her closely saw it already in her early junior years. Her father, P-O, was a solid skier, but nowhere near the level his daughter would reach.

Ebba Andersson earned her place on the national team at an early age, joining a Swedish team that had taken over the hegemony in women’s cross-country skiing. Charlotte Kalla’s success and the results at the home World Championships in Falun 2015 were only the beginning.

And a huge source of motivation for the next generation.

Read More: Stars of Olympic cross-country skiing: Top 10 most successful women of all time

A national team that makes each other better

“Stronger together” is a phrase often used in sports.

It fits the Swedish women’s cross-country team perfectly. Maja Dahlqvist, Jonna Sundling, Emma Ribom, Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, and others have pushed each other forward through fierce internal competition.

It did not take long before the Swedes stopped looking back to Charlotte Kalla, Ida Ingemarsdotter, Sofia Bleckur, and Maria Rydqvist, the stars of the home World Championships in 2015.

There has often been a battle between Ebba and Frida over who is the leading distance skier. They grew up in the same club in Sollefteå. But Ebba chose to move to the powerhouse club Piteå Elit, where she is teammates with Jonna Sundling, Emma Ribom, and several other national team skiers.

“Only” one win this winter

But after three gold medals at the World Championships in Trondheim (10km classic, skiathlon, and relay), Ebba Andersson is not as big a favorite as one might expect.

The reason is that this season has not gone entirely to plan.

She has one World Cup victory to her name, the 10km freestyle at her favorite venue, Granåsen in Trondheim. In the Tour de Ski, she finished fourth overall.

While Frida Karlsson has spent weeks training at altitude ahead of the Olympics, alongside athletes such as Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Ebba Andersson has kept a low profile.

She has trained mostly at home, skipped the World Cup after the Tour de Ski, and prepared in her own way.

Whether that has been the right approach remains to be seen.

She does have one advantage: her partner, Gustaf Berglund, has also qualified for the Olympics and will be nearby.

Also Read: Program for cross-country skiing at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

Complete program for the Winter Olympic Games can be found HERE

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.