Moa Ilar became the talk of the town during the World Cup in Holmenkollen in March when she crushed everyone in the 10-kilometer race. After the season, she had to undergo surgery for the second time.

Moa Ilar was at best considered an outsider for the 10-kilometer victory during the World Cup in Holmenkollen the week after the World Championships. But the 27-year-old smashed the entire World Cup elite and pushed Therese Johaug down to fifth place.

Also Read: Moa Ilar wins 10km interval start at the World Cup in Holmenkollen

Now, the 2026 Winter Olympics are the next goal for Ilar, but the Swede has had to put her season preparations on hold.

Ilar struggled with a foot injury throughout the season and has now undergone surgery to deal with it. She’s not exactly sure what kind of procedure it was.

“I’m actually the wrong person to answer that, but they went in and sawed off part of a bone to create a bit more space. Then they went in and cleaned up the joints because there were blockages in many of them. The fluid that is supposed to flow in the joints wasn’t doing that,” Ilar told Expressen.

Severe pain

“It’s been sore, bone hitting bone. It’s been like an internal bruise that’s just constantly there,” she said.

The pain has made it difficult for her to ski with good technique, especially during training, both before and after races.

“The competitions went well — you forget the pain once you start. But before and after, that was probably the worst,” she told Expressen.

Struggled for nearly ten years

Ilar revealed that she has struggled with the same injury for years and was operated on for it once before, in 2017. Just before the season began last fall, the pain returned.

This time, she went under the knife again as soon as the season ended.

“It’s good to get the procedure done as quickly as possible after the season and just have it over with,” she said.

Ilar hopes her return to normal training won’t take too long.

“I still have to experiment with training. I can’t do everything yet and am trying to take it step by step. I can cycle just fine, and I can ride for a long time. It’s nice that there are things I can do, but it still feels like there’s a way to go before I can start running,” she said.

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