Moa Lundgren was very impressive when she finished second (behind German Katharina Hennig) and best Swedish in the 15-kilometer race at Alliansloppet at the end of August last year. Her goal for the winter was clear: the World Championships in Planica.

But at the last training camp before the winter season, she contracted a bacteria that caused significant problems:

“I had a bacteria that grew in my stomach and gave me something called glandular fever. But it’s something that children under the age of 12 usually suffer from and have the same symptoms as appendicitis. So, it was a bit of a mess,” Lundgren said to Aftonbladet, surprised when the doctors told her that the appendix was still there, and added:

“Then you start thinking about when you can start training again.”

After the surgery, she waited three weeks without being able to use her abdominal muscles:

“It was an incredibly different situation. I couldn’t even lift a milk box, and I had to roll out of bed for the first three weeks,” says the 25-year-old from the Swedish National Team training camp in Livigno, Italy.

Lundgren made her comeback at the Scandinavian Cup in Östersund in mid-December:

“Given the conditions going into the season, I skied much better than I had dared to hope for. But the time to make it to the World Championships was too short,” says Lundgren, who, on the first weekend in March, through the victory in the sprint and seventh place in both distance races in Madona, Latvia, secured the overall victory in the Scandinavian Cup.

This result means that she has already secured her place in all World Cup competitions until Christmas:

“Being ready to ski the first four weekends of competition gives me great peace of mind going into the Swedish premiere in Gällivare. It means that I can go there with a smile on my face,” says Lundgren to Langd.se.

She has now spent a couple of weeks at a high-altitude training camp with the Swedish National Team in Livigno, Italy:

“I haven’t been to a high-altitude camp since 2021 when there were three high-altitude camps, and the last one, I was ‘no longer fit.’ Therefore, I have been cautious this time to ensure I have a good start and finish on this camp, and today (Thursday), I have done my absolute best session at a high altitude. And I think the reason for this is that we have been very careful with the intensity and made sure to have a lot of time for recovery,” says Lundgren.

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