FALUN (Dagbladet): Calle Halfvarsson announced to the Swedish newspaper Expressen that he would take the podium in Friday’s sprint at Falun.

Halfvarsson thinks he is fit, and is eyeing his first World Cup podium in four years. Then he dropped out of that discussion on his way up the sprint hill in the semifinals.

Hence, it was a crazy revenge for him when he finished second at fifteen kilometers Saturday. Which is the first podium for Sweden in four years.

– It’s very important for me to show myself that I can be on top of the world. I had some good races on the Tour de Ski, but then I got sick and didn’t make it to the Olympics. After that, I practiced at home and focused on this, and it gave a great answer, said a happy and relieved Halfvarsson.

just relax

It had been two days since he told Dagbladet about the financial challenges that lay between him and another season at the World Cup. The motivation to continue is now at its peak, although the adrenaline after second place may have to be a bit stifled another day.

– I’d rather go out and have a party tonight, but we’re probably going to the relay tomorrow, so it’ll probably be pretty quiet tonight, he said.

Now is the time to take every opportunity he can to show that he is back on top. The veteran has struggled, another season, to find the form he and the Swedish national team know he has.

And in the years that have passed since the previous podium, the incitement on social media has grown stronger.

Does not matter

The Olympic flop in Beijing only gave the trolls more fuel on the fire, with no Halfvarsson seemingly succeeding in any way.

– What’s a little funny is that people ask me how I deal with all the haters and people who write bullshit. Then I usually ask them what they think. It’s not something I’ve seen or read, I don’t know anything about it. And if I read something, it just bounces off of me, Halfvarsson said.

Annoyed at Johaug

– It doesn’t affect me at all. I know what I can do, so if anyone comes along and tells me I’m evil. What should I take from him? he asked.

Despite the fact that it may now be tempting to show the middle finger to those who instigated him, Halfvarsson believes that would be wrong even if he now finally makes it on the track again.

– That would be wrong too, because I don’t care. People who write stuff like that usually don’t know anything about sports either, so I don’t care about people like that.