As of: March 27, 2024, 7:12 p.m
By: Luca Hartmann
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In her first race after almost ten months of maternity leave, cross-country skier Therese Johaug duped the competition.
Will she return to the World Cup next season?
Lillehammer - Furious comeback by cross-country skiing legend Therese Johaug at the Norwegian championships in Lillehammer: In the first race after the birth of her daughter in May last year, the 35-year-old won the 30-kilometer race with a huge lead.
She is almost three minutes ahead of second-placed American Sophia Laukli at the finish.
Will the comeback in the World Cup now follow?
Fabulous comeback victory: Johaug dupes the competition at the Norwegian championships
“I didn't expect it to go so well.
It was great fun to be at the start again and to feel the rush of competition,” said the four-time Olympic champion after the race.
Johaug probably didn't expect that she would leave the competition so far behind after the long break from competition.
“This is a step on the way to see what the condition is at the moment,” she announced her comeback before the race.
Now that this has been completely successful, a return to the World Cup seems quite logical from a sporting point of view - but the decision has not yet been made.
Therese Johaug (here at her 2022 World Cup victory in Falun) didn't give the competition a chance in her comeback.
© IMAGO/JOHANNA LUNDBERG
Return to the World Cup?
Johaug “hasn’t decided yet”
“I haven’t decided yet,” emphasized Johaug.
“My gut feeling has to be 120 percent right.
Part of it is sport.
However, my family is much more important.
“I’m no longer the first priority,” said the Norwegian, referring to her young daughter.
Her husband Nils Jakob Hoff, with whom she celebrated a dream wedding on New Year's Eve, and the extensive training, sometimes two sessions a day, also play a role in the considerations.
A World Cup comeback at the proud age of 36 would also have an important preparatory meaning for Johaug.
After all, the Nordic World Ski Championships will take place next year in their Norwegian home in Trondheim.
Johaug recently emphasized whether she would take part in the home World Cup has not yet been decided.
In this form, despite a long break, she would probably have a serious chance of winning the next World Cup medals.
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Nordic World Ski Championships next year in Johaug's homeland in Norway
She has been on the winner's podium at world championships a total of 19 times and won a total of 14 world titles.
In addition, there are four Olympic gold medals, 100 victories in the World Cup and winning the overall World Cup and Tour de Ski three times each.
Winning numbers that most female athletes can only dream of in their careers.
Johaug will decide in the next few months whether she can even expand on her victories in the World Cup and World Championships in the coming season - and the competition will probably also be watching closely.
(LuHa)