Bulletin E-Edition:
Speedy Swede
Bend's Kristina Strandberg is vying to make the Swedish cross-country ski team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Vancouver
By Mark Morical / The Bulletin
Last modified: November 28. 2009 8:49AM PST
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Kristina Strandberg trains last week during an interval workout on roller skis with XC Oregon in Bend's Tetherow neighborhood. Mount Bachelor is in the background. Strandberg is trying to make the Winter Olympics in Vancouver as a competitor from Sweden.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
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Editor's note: This is the second installment in a series of stories on 2010 Winter Olympic hopefuls from Central Oregon. The stories will appear on Fridays leading up to the Vancouver Games, which are set for Feb. 12-28, 2010.
In Sweden, cross-country skiing is as wildly popular as football is in the United States. So attempting to qualify for the Swedish Olympic nordic ski team is no easy task.
But Kristina Strandberg will try to do just that.
Strandberg is a Swedish cross-country skier who for the last three years has made her home in Bend.
With so many elite skiers from Sweden, competition to make the Olympic team is fierce. But then again, because it is home to so many talented skiers, Sweden will bring more skiers to the Vancouver Games than most countries.
“In general, it's harder because there's just more skiers that are very close to the Olympic level,” Strandberg says. “Depending on how many spots each team gets, the U.S. team might be hard, too. The more elite skiers, the more spots (teams) have.”
Strandberg, 34, is making her first attempt to qualify for the Olympics.
Born and raised in Sweden, she moved to the United States in 1999 to race for the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
She moved to Bend about three years ago with boyfriend Lars Flora, a two-time Olympian in nordic skiing who was raised in Bend and is also vying for the 2010 Winter Games.
Strandberg qualified for this season's World Cup circuit by winning the U.S. Super Tour last year. Her performance on the World Cup this season will determine whether she makes the Olympic team. The first World Cup races are scheduled to take place this weekend in Norway.
“I feel the best physically and mentally that I've ever felt going into the season,” Strandberg says. “I know I've done what I can.
“This time of year, it's really easy to get a little doubt seeping in. The training is there and the preparation has been made. You just have to trust that.”
Justin Wadsworth, the World Cup coach for the U.S. cross-country ski team, helps coach Strandberg. He believes Strandberg is a legitimate contender for the Swedish Olympic team.
“She definitely can make it,” says Wadsworth, himself a three-time Olympian who lives in Bend.
Strandberg trained over the summer in New Zealand, enjoying three weeks on the snow while preparing for the World Cup season.
“That was fantastic,” she says, recalling her New Zealand experience. “The skiing is unbelievable, and you live really nicely.”
Strandberg has achieved most of her success as a classic skier at distances of 10 kilometers and longer. But this season she is also expecting to race well in skate skiing, though not necessarily in the sprint distances. She is aiming for standout results in the more traditional distances in both the skate- and classic-skiing styles.
“But maybe I'll feel different a month from now,” she says, noting that her World Cup results could change her goals.
Strandberg is focusing all her attention on her Olympic bid, devoting most of her time to training and racing.
“If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it full on,” Strandberg says. “You have to do it 100 percent. It's easy to argue that you could work half time, but there's a lot of resting that comes with training. It's just too much.
“We're racing against people who are paid to do nothing but ski. So you have to put yourself in that situation. There's really no money to make domestically; you have to race internationally.”
At 34 years old, Strandberg knows she might get passed up for the Olympic team because of her age. But that will not stop her from trying.
“I'm not going to be competing for another 10, 15 years,” she explains. “If we have a very comparable result, they'll take the younger skier.
“But I just have to be faster.”
Mark Morical can be reached at 541-383-0318 or at mmorical@bendbulletin.com.
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