Therese Johaug is back. © TT News Agency / ULF PALM

An entire country is looking forward to this comeback

Although the World Cup season has already ended in many winter sports, this weekend is the biggest comeback of the year. One of the most successful cross-country skiers of all time is putting on her skis again after a two-year break.

March 20, 2024

From: leo

Therese Johaug is back: The four-time Olympic champion, 14-time world champion and 82-time World Cup winner is competing in her first race on the big stage in almost two years this Saturday. The cross-country skiing superstar is competing at the Norwegian championships, completing her first endurance test after becoming a mother for the first time on May 17, 2023. It is not yet clear whether the 35-year-old will actually return to the World Cup and start at the World Championships in Trondheim next season.

“It’s really nice that she’s taking part,” says former cross-country skiing great Petter Northug to the broadcaster TV2. “It makes the national championships and Norwegian women’s cross-country skiing, which is at a crossroads, even more exciting.”

Is she coming back?

There have been wild comeback rumors surrounding Johaug since her retirement. Her compatriot Marit Bjørgen has proven that it is possible to return to the top of the world after pregnancy. Johaug herself had the rumor mill churning at the beginning of March when she said on a talk show: “I have to say that I’m really looking forward to the 50-kilometer race in Trondheim.” It will be the first time that women have run this distance at a World Cup.

Highly decorated: Therese Johaug © AFP / SEBASTIEN BOZON

In any case, the interest and excitement in Norway is huge. And everyone agrees: Johaug wouldn't take part in the 30-kilometer race in Lillehammer if she wasn't in good shape. “I know what it’s like to compete against them. It's brutal, so I'm prepared to take defeat. I think she is in good shape and that she is one of the favorites for the gold medal,” says World Cup athlete Lotta Udnes Weng.