Bergqvist about the strong athletics team: « becomes a thunder summer »

– It will be a thunder summer I feel – we have an incredibly nice and strong team with both top and breadth. Now you just long for everything to get started properly, said Kajsa Bergqvist in May.

Now – two weeks later, the union captain can still his longing slightly.

On Thursday it is time for Bislett Games in Norway and on Sunday Bauhausgalan in Stockholm. But there are more and larger competitions to look forward to Bergqvist and the Swedish athletics team.

In addition to the Diamond League, which runs until August 28, the team will be held in Madrid on June 26th. The biggest highlight of the season is of course the World Cup in Tokyo in September, but there is another competition that the league captain protects extra much.

– Finnkampen is … the value of that competition and history is so incredibly cool. I sat on the stand several times as a small and dreamed of once being able to join myself. Then I suddenly participated for 15 years and now be allowed to join as the national team instead, she says.

Bergqvist continues to talk about the classic competition and places great emphasis on the word « fight ».

Between 2019 and 2023, Sweden took Five straight double victories, but last year Finland responded and did the same in Helsinki. The combination of the fact that the national team now maintains a fairly even level and that athletics for a moment turn into a team sport, the union captain makes extra excited.

– It has become an incredible nerve again, some years so Sweden has been clear, clearly better, and since there have been periods when Finland has been clearly better. Now we are so very similar, says Bergqvist.

– We will top the team to Max – such a historic day we really do not want to leave anything to chance.

Is it one of the most important assignments as the national team – to get the collective together even though it is an individual sport?

– Yes, absolutely. We will never be like a football team, but if you feel that you have people behind you who support one, there are much greater prerequisites that you can make good results.

In addition to the athletics team’s big star, Armand Duplantis, which beat his own world record in stake jump February, there are several others who have stuck out in terms of results. Among other things, Vanessa Kamba beat the Swedish record in discus last year before Erik Erlandsson set a Swedish indoor record of 200 meters in January.

In recent months, both Andreas Almgren (5,000 and 10,000 meters of country road), Fanny Roos (bullet), Samuel Pihlström (one mile indoors and 1500 meters), Julia Henriksson (200 meters indoors), Wictor Petersson (Kula indoor), Henrik Larsson (60 meters of country) and Sarah Lahtah Lahtah Lahtah Lahtah Lahtah Lahtah Laht. Swedish record.

In addition to the record holders, Also, among others, Engla Nilsson (high jump), Thobias Montler (length), Maja Thunderstorm (length and three steps) and Daniel Ståhl (discus) have shown fine form lately.

– We have some that will of course be cheated on medals, but my hope is that some pieces will at least move their positions to get a little closer to that level, says Kajsa Bergqvist.

Would you like to mention who you think about in the first place?

– No, but there are many who could do it.

-The top width of active ones that can be involved in and fitting about finals in the World Cup and Olympic context-this is the group that I would like to see is growing to be able to take the next step.