Tearful Johaug: "I feel a deep sense of disappointment"

Traditional skiing

Tearful Johaug: “I feel a deep sense of disappointment”

by Ingeborg Scheve/Translated by Katerina Paul • 05.03.2025

Member Article

Photo: Kent Murdoch

For the second time in a row at this year’s World Championships, Therese Johaug crosses the finish line in tears—defeated by a Swede, once again.

Once more, Therese Johaug has to see herself beaten at the World Championships in Trondheim. And once again, it comes down to the finest of margins.

In Sunday’s skiathlon, the 36-year-old’s first race in her comeback World Championships, she loses the gold at the finish line. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson clinches victory by a razor-thin margin after a thrilling 20-kilometer race. Johaug leads heading into the final stretch, but Andersson has more left in the tank.

At the finish, the difference is mere millimeters.

Margins Again

On Tuesday’s 10-kilometer classic individual start, it happens again: Andersson edges out Johaug by the slimmest of margins.

Johaug misses out on gold by just over a second and a half, despite having time advantages over the Swede earlier in the race. Reading her lips at the finish, it’s clear that her words aren’t fit for print.

– It just comes down to bad luck. It’s not that I’m in bad shape. It’s just that the margins haven’t been on my side. And honestly, that sucks, she says.

After securing yet another second-place finish, Johaug walks straight out of the competition area and into a garage next to the athletes’ locker rooms. She stays there for fifteen minutes before a representative from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation brings her to the medal ceremony.

Later, Johaug explains that she needed some time to herself. Inside with her was also Astrid Øyre Slind.

– We were all disappointed. Sometimes you just need a moment to yourself. We talked about the race, but it wasn’t exactly a celebratory mood, she says.

One Last Chance

Johaug has one final opportunity to achieve her dream of winning a World Championship gold on home soil. The Swedes say she has a chance to “salvage her legacy”: the 50-kilometer race on Sunday, March 9—the first-ever women’s 50km in history.

– The reason I made this comeback was for the 50-kilometer race. I hadn’t planned on doing the skiathlon or the 10km. But when the season started, and I saw that I could still compete at the top, I went for it. And when you’re on the start line, you race to win. So far, I haven’t done that. Yet, says Johaug.

– I’m hungry for revenge. I’m ready to grit my teeth and dig even deeper. That has been my main goal all along. It’ll be interesting to see what the conditions are like on Sunday, whether they salt the course. It’s going to be a tough 50km, she says, adding:

– I’m putting pressure on myself. I’m making this comeback because I dream of winning gold in that 50km race.