28 years old and already put the skis on the shelf

28 years old and already put the skis on the shelf

 

He was a huge talent and won three gold medals at the Junior Swedish Championships (JSM) in Torsby in 2016. Today, he is 28 years old and has already retired from skiing for three years. Several national team skiers had to quit due to back problems – Viktor Thorn was one of them.

“It’s hard to say what caused the problems. I had two surgeries for a herniated disc in my back. Maybe it’s genetic, maybe I trained incorrectly,” says Viktor Thorn to Langd.se.

 

It was in 2016 that the public seriously took notice of the guy from Bengtsfors in Dalsland, Sweden.

Three Gold Medals at the Junior Swedish Championships (JSM)

Three gold medals at the JSM in Torsby was impressive, and already as a junior, he took silver in the skiathlon at the Swedish Championships (SM) in Piteå. By then, he had already won two gold medals at the JSM in Lycksele in 2014.

 

“I got to experience a World Championships and an Olympics,” says Viktor, who was especially strong in the prologues of sprint races.

 

At the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria, he tied for first place in the prologue with Russian Sergei Ustiugov. But, as so often before, he was eliminated before the final.

“My best World Cup finish was 8th place,” he says, a position he achieved three times.

 

Still Living in Östersund

Today, he is distant from elite skiing. He still lives in Östersund and doesn’t plan to return to Dalsland.

 

“No, I’ll probably stay here,” he says, adding that much of his free time is now spent hunting and fishing in the Jämtland mountains.

 

“I exercise, but I guess you could call it old man’s training,” the 28-year-old says.

 

However, he stays connected to skiing through a job as a biathlete coach at Mid Sweden University in Östersund.