STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s gold medal hopes in cross-country skiing at the Beijing Olympics were dealt a blow when sprint specialist Linn Svahn said she would miss the Games due to a shoulder injury.
Svahn said doctors informed her after an operation two months ago that her shoulder, which she damaged in a fall in Ulricehamn, Sweden last February, would not heal in time.
“Yesterday I lay on the floor, hugged my dog and just cried. It was probably the first time I cried like that in two, three years,” the 21-year-old told Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Just before her fall, Svahn scored a brilliant victory in the 10km classic World Cup race in Falun, Sweden, beating Norwegian rival and 14-times world champion Therese Johaug and igniting hopes the Swedes could challenge Norway’s dominance of the sport in Beijing.
Svahn plans to use the recovery period to become a better skier.
“I want to form myself to be sharp at everything this winter – I want to be able to challenge the absolute best all-round skiers, and go for an overall victory in the World Cup,” she said.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
