A final and formal answer about whether Therese Johaug will make a comeback is just around the corner, but the Norwegian national team coaches are smiling broadly these days.

A spot on the Norwegian national team is being held for her, and the national team coaches will welcome Therese Johaug with open arms the day she potentially makes a final decision about her comeback. However, the coaches are optimistic.

Do you think she will join?

“I hope and believe it,” says the head coach of the women’s Norwegian national team, Sjur Ole Svarstad, to TV2 during a press conference on Friday.

At the same time, he is also open about being anxious about what she will decide.

“I think Marit (Bjørgen) or Pål Gunnar (Mikkelsplass) have more dialogue with her than I do. Marit has quite a few training sessions with Therese. That dialogue is probably frequent, but I have been conscious not to nag too much. I think she gets a lot of questions about next winter,” says Svarstad.

How long will the spot on the team be held for her?

“Now we have a group of eight people traveling around together for training camps. She is more than welcome if she joins us for the camps this fall. We probably won’t replace the spot if she decides not to ski this winter. For now, we are focused on those here, and it will be a great bonus if she joins the team.”

Also Read – Cross-country skiing expert: “Johaug just needs one good race, and she’s in the team”

Imminent Decision

Johaug has announced that a decision about her future is imminent and whether she will accept the Norwegian national team spot that is ready for her.

But there is no doubt that she is tempted by the World Championships at home, specifically the 50km race. The 35-year-old, who became a mother a year ago, also says she misses competing.

Also Read: How can Johaug train during and after pregnancy: Bjørgen’s training and Jönsson Haag’s advice

So far, the competition experiences last winter have given her good experiences and solid indications that her form and capacity have barely changed in the two years since she retired: Therese Johaug dominated her competitors.

First, she crushed former rival Justyna Kowalczyk in the 17km Engadin Frauenlauf in Switzerland the first weekend of March. Then, she left the World Cup elite behind in the Norwegian National Championship 30km, her second race since retiring from the World Cup level in 2022, crushing her competitors and winning by nearly three minutes.

Read More: Dominant win for Johaug at the Norwegian Championships

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