Swedish Skiers Face Setbacks in 2025-2026 Tour de Ski Sprint Events

The 2025-2026 Tour de Ski has presented notable challenges for Swedish cross-country skiers, with several key athletes experiencing disappointing performances and falls in the sprint events. Alvar Myhlback, only 19 years old, was eliminated in the sprint qualification and criticized his own performance, stating it was "not okay" to be selected and perform poorly. Despite feeling decently prepared, he missed advancing by about 1.5 seconds. William Poromaa also failed to qualify, suffering from persistent airway pain which he compared to the harshness of strong whiskey.

Among the women, Emma Ribom fell during the semifinal sprint, describing the incident as a "real belly flop" and expressing regret for not advancing, especially given the importance of tour placements. Shortly after, Johanna Hagström also fell early in the sprint final and finished fifth behind winner Kristine Stavås Skistad. Maja Dahlqvist was one of the few Swedish women to reach the final.

Frida Karlsson, a previous Tour de Ski winner, has relinquished her hopes of winning this year's tour following an early sprint qualification failure. She now views the event primarily as training to regain form ahead of future races. Despite her disappointment, she remains hopeful, and fellow competitors encourage her not to give up, emphasizing the tour’s tight schedule and need for strategic time management.

Only Edvin Anger advanced from among the Swedish male skiers during qualifications, underscoring the difficult start for Sweden in this year’s Tour de Ski sprint events.