THURSBY. Frieda Carlson and Maja Dalqvist are in the middle of investing outside the national team.
But on-site in Torsby, the skating stars are revealing an ongoing dialogue with the national skating team’s management and are open to returning to training groups for next season.
– I want to be in the team, but I want him to be the best. That’s why we have meetings that will lead to development, says Frieda Carlson.
The contrast is clear – like every summer -. The raw cold bites the cheeks and the warm blanket is felt on top. But the bar-grabbing sound of skaters is like music familiar to the ears.
And this Thursday, the ice is feverish in the Torsby ski tunnel.
A sponsored team from the middle of Norway stomps into a group, Olympic champion Victoria Karl passes the new coach of the German women’s national team Per NelsonD., the trainer from Sollefteå High School Skiing, is also Frida Carlson’s personal trainer.
Swede mentor and twin soul Maya Dalkvist emerges from a tunnel tube on the backs of USA snowboarders Benjamin Ogden, John Steele Hagenbuch, Walker Hall, Finn O’Connell, JC Schonemaker and Kevin Bolger. High-speed pulses are put into the schedule when Swedish stars receive a slate of long-distance guests.
It is a lively training environment. National team skaters meet and exchange experiences, skates are tested and there is a taste of elemental lactic acid.
Per Nilsson gives Frida Karlsson feedback after the speed increase. He negotiated the right to continue coaching his own distance gem in the contract with the German national team.
You enjoy Frida Carlson and Maja Dalqvist. They ended the session with a selfie, including Maja’s friend Kevin Bolger.
Frida Carlson says it’s fun to learn from each other.
‘It’s not a war’
Two hours later, the Swedish national team will check-in at the Valbergsängen sports hotel. It might be a session with Swedish friends, Frieda Carlsson guesses, but neither she nor Maja are part of the Swedish Ski Association’s pre-season training group. They chose, you know and like Lynn Svan, to leave the national team when faced with a choice: you’re either in all camps or nothing.
Maja Dalqvist and Frida Karlsson still have team friends, they will be standing on the starting line in white when the World Cup starts and there are no hard feelings between the riders and captains.
– It’s not a war. I’m doing this because I think it’s best for me. I think I need it to develop myself as a person and as an athlete. Frida Carlson assures they do what they do, there’s no crack for that.
Separate Superstars simply chose their own squad when they felt the option of flexibility in loading up a national team season was lacking. The decision is a sign, but perhaps the beginning of something new.
There is an ongoing debate about the return of MDFK, as the duo socially call themselves.
We’ll tell you about it, but first let’s support the band to make a tough decision when they were given an ultimatum that wasn’t like a thunderbolt out of the blue.
Worn to find the right balance
Frida Karlsson sitting on a wall railing in Valbergsängen. She was dressed in short jeans, a blue sweater with her hair up.
The 23-year-old is present, often close to laughing but speaking softly from the heart.
She is in a good position in life and grows out of personal responsibility.
– I’m learning and getting better and better. I need some peace and quiet. I like to be spontaneous and do more fun things, but having time at home, doing good sessions and letting her roll is key for me, she says.
The Sollefteå skater had success during WC at Seefeld 2019 when she won bronze, silver and gold medals, but the seasons in national team activities haven’t really suited her.
She also struggles to find the right balance between exercise, rest and diet on her own, and this winter’s Olympic setback after extremely passionate training and high-altitude camping was an enriching experience.
When was the seed planted to take this step?
The seed was sown a little earlier this year. Looks like I tried to influence things at work already two years ago. I had something inside of me that made me have to adapt. I’ve been to camps and that means I didn’t feel like I had to run on my red thread. Now it turns out like that, says Frida.
What changes would you like to see in the team’s operations for survival?
– More flexibility. I think it’s a bit of an outdated process based on the fact that we have one week a month, 25 percent of the time, that the federation has put all its resources into. Then in the remaining 75 percent we don’t have anything. I’d rather see you build an everyday life and get the resources out there.
“There will be many wishes”
Maja Dalqvist, 28, is on the same path. Last winter she won two Olympic silvers and feels she is at a point in her career where she has a platform to break free and go her own way when the selection after discussions with the national team management has not led to any compromise.
Maja Dalqvist was tired after the Olympic season, both mentally and physically, and the opportunity to decide on her own squad was important even if the national team management reduced the number of sessions this pre-season.
I’m the kind of person who wants to influence and have a say in things. I’ve tried to make changes in previous years as well, and this year I felt I had the conditions to drive along, she says.
What kind of changes did you call earlier?
– It’s not just a tangible part. The reason I chose to be off the team is to have more continuity in what I’m doing at home and not go to camps where I can’t use things one hundred percent. You can improve things in many different ways. It wasn’t bad, but I think you can improve the parts.
Have you tried that there is a response from the management of the national team?
– Both. It’s a big group with very few coaches so it’s going to be tough. There will be many wishes.
Can you be specific about what you think could be improved?
To use each other in more sessions than those which are specific interval sessions. In the camp you can do a couple of quick sessions and I think there is more to be gained in all sessions. And when the coaches don’t live where the activists live, there’s a little bump in the road, you can’t see each other for more than a week of camp. It’s hard to explain, it’s just not a part. Everyday life in Falun is really good. So there must be a reason to go to camp. It should be a golden feature and you shouldn’t feel like you’re losing things at home, says sprint specialist.
But what was portrayed as a stalemate may actually be a step in a new direction.
Frida Karlsson and Maja Dalqvist have told Sportbladet that they want to belong to the national team throughout the year and have ambitions to return to the training groups for next season.
– I want to be in the team, but I want him to be the best. That’s why we have meetings that will lead to development, says Frieda Carlson.
Is there an ongoing dialogue?
– Yes, we had a meeting after the decision and I will look for her here (in Torsby).
What will you press in this dialogue?
– The important thing should be daily life. There will be no continuity if it is a week in one place, then a week in another next month. They have no idea about the other three weeks. I want us to be able to sit down as a team and feel like we’ve built together this week and that we’ll be taking the key lessons we want with us during the next camp as well. So we get a common thread and not just change focus.
Maja Dalqvist:
– I want to be on the team. that’s what I want. We’ve tried to explain why we’re doing it and hopefully there will be a change for next year so we can be involved and the younger skaters feel like they want to be in the first team.
– If you want changes, you have to participate and influence. I tried to impress, but when it was an all-or-nothing suggestion from them, it turned out that way. I hope it leads to better things in the team and they realize that some fresh thinking is needed.
Are you and Frida leading those discussions?
– We’re there. But I’ve heard there’s more, but I can’t speak for anyone but myself.
“There are a lot of phone calls…”
Dialogue can run parallel to the stars’ own solo projects.
Maja Dahlqvist is focused on getting a stronger upper body, and Frida Karlsson is building higher shape later this winter.
And what’s new for this year is that coach Per Nelson will miss the World Cup. Although he is the coach of the German national team, he will be able to support Sweden’s long jump.
– There are many phone calls to Bear over the World Cup weekend. Now I have it in place, it will serve as a support. Maybe we can do a lap on the track, it feels good. If things get tough, I have a shoulder to cry on…
– When it comes to tactical moves, it can be a bit too late, says Frieda Carlson with a laugh.
