The women’s 50km race in Trondheim presented very loose conditions. Jonna Sundling finished fifth and spoke after the race about the battle on the track.

50km Race in Trondheim

The soft snow was the main talking point after the historic women’s 50km race in Trondheim. Jonna Sundling, who left the World Championships with three gold medals and one bronze, finished fifth in the final race.

After the race, the nearly speechless World Championships star entered the mixed zone.

“I find it hard to put into words because this was the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my career, competition-wise,” she told Langrenn.com.

No Salting

Due to snowfall, the course could not be salted, as it wouldn’t have worked well in the snow.

“We knew the conditions would be quite tough, considering that they said there would be no salting in the morning because it didn’t work in the snow. So we understood that it was going to be loose. But the fact that it was this loose all around the course shocked us when we arrived”, she said.

When Sundling inspected the course before the race, she realized that warming up on skis might not be the best idea.

“I started thinking that maybe I shouldn’t warm up too much on skis, but rather warm up my knees and all my joints because you were just kind of… No, it wasn’t stable at all, to put it that way“, she states.

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Early Ski Change

Sundling was one of the skiers who managed to keep up with the leading group the longest, and after she dropped back, she decided to change skis early.

“I felt like I should just do my own thing and make the best of it. I also knew I had good skis in the box, so I made the early switch.”

After changing skis, everything changed for the World Championships star, and she was back in the race.

“When I switched skis… it was like night and day. It felt like I got a much better skiing sensation. The skis were faster. I got an energy boost from that and felt like, okay, this could still be a good day,” she remembers.

Satisfied with Her Performance

During the race, she struggled with technique and had difficulty skiing efficiently in the soft snow.

“But what was tough for me, technically speaking, was that I had to dig very, very deep into my skiing today. I couldn’t glide smoothly over the snow.”

Even though she didn’t win a medal in the 50km race, Sundling was satisfied with her performance.

“I’m happy with how the race ended and that I managed to finish in fifth place. It honestly feels almost like a medal to me. Especially considering the conditions and how long the distance is,” she concluded.

Also Read: Frida Karlsson wins 50km mass start at the Trondheim World Championships

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