This winter, the Swedes won six golds out of six possible at the World Championships in Trondheim. Now, 80 percent of the Swedish star team is considering retirement.

The Swedish star team, including Frida Karlsson, Ebba Andersson, and Jonna Sundling, claimed all gold medals at the World Championships in Trondheim this winter.

Seven of the eight women on the elite national team secured individual victories in the World Cup. Overall, the 2024/2025 season was the best ever for the Swedish national team.

But now, a full-blown crisis may be looming for the Swedish team.

Last spring, Frida Karlsson shocked the entire skiing community when she announced she would retire after the 2027 World Championships in Falun. She will be 27 years old then.

Read More: Klæbo reacts strongly to Frida Karlsson’s comments

Andersson Unsure

Just over a month later, Ebba Andersson revealed that she too is uncertain whether she will continue after the Falun World Championships. And in August, Maja Dahlqvist hinted that she had already made a plan for when to end her career.

“I’m really unsure what will happen after the Falun Worlds,” Andersson told Expressen.

The 27-year-old, who won three gold medals in Trondheim and was crowned World Championships queen both this year and in 2023, is already thinking about life after her home World Championships.

“Will I continue with ‘traditional’? Will I instead switch to long-distance skiing? Or will I be tired of the sport and retire altogether? By 2027, it will have been ten years since I competed in my first senior championship,” she says.

Andersson, as known, won back-to-back Ski Classics races this winter—her first appearances in three years.

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Andersson also says that what the other stars on the team decide will influence her own decision.

“But that’s also a result of the age we are at now. We’re getting to the point where other things in life start to become more appealing than committing to skiing day in and day out.”

Also Read: Prize money rankings: How much Ski Classics stars earned in Season XVI

Sundling Also in Reflection Mode

Thirty-year-old Jonna Sundling is also unsure whether she’ll continue after the 2026/2027 season.

“I’m only thinking as far as the World Championships in Falun. We’ll see after that,” she says, adding:

“I haven’t set a retirement date. The only promise I made to myself when I was younger was that I would keep going until at least 30. That I had to stick it out until then.”

But now you’re 30…?

“Mmm. But at the same time, I feel like I still have many years left in me, if I want to.”

Read More: 2024/2025 Cross-Country World Cup: Final standings after Lahti

National Team Coach: No Crisis

Sweden’s national team coach Stefan Thomson doesn’t sound the alarm over the star team.

“First of all, there’s a difference between what they say and what they do,” he says.

But Thomson also acknowledges that a generational shift is coming.

“They’re approaching 30, so we have to monitor what’s happening among the younger athletes. I think we’re seeing good development. The athletes in the Team Bauhaus (Sweden’s development squad) have made progress, and several got World Cup starts this winter,” he says, and continues:

“They know the door to the elite team is open. And I think it’s important for the current elite skiers to know that there are others right on their heels.”

Team Announcement Next Week

On Monday, May 5, the Swedish Ski Association will announce its national teams for the 2025/2026 Olympic season.

During Easter, Calle Halfvarsson announced that he’s leaving the Swedish national team after 14 years. He too will retire after the 2027 World Championships in Falun.

Also Read: Calle Halfvarsson leaves the Swedish National Team – Shifts focus

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