23-year-old Sophia Laukli, with a father from Norway, moved from the USA to Oslo to achieve her dream of an Olympic medal. In Norway, she is part of Team Aker Dæhlie. At the weekend, the versatile athlete took an important step on the way to his goal. She was first up the “monster hill” in Val di Fiemme, and has really made her mark in cross-country skiing. – I was surprised when I reached the finish line. I think it helped me a lot to follow Heidi Weng, and it gave me a lot of energy, Laukli told news after the finish. BEST UP “MONSTERBAKKEN”: Laukli water flowed. Heidi Weng (left) took second place and French Delphine Claudel (right) was third. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB The next Winter Olympics will be held in Italy, and on Saturday Laukli got to try out the Olympic trails. – After I competed here for the first time a few years ago, I knew that I like the trails here. Going here again, and having one of my best classic races, makes me very happy to come back. This is a good place for me, smiles the 23-year-old. Festløve An important part of the weekday for the young cross-country skier, who in the summer half is at the top of the world in style skiing, stands out from a number of other top athletes. Laukli does just like most other 23-year-olds. She parties. In the podcast “Skirious problems”, with cross-country skiers Mika Vermeulen and James Clugnet, Laukli revealed that she parties every weekend throughout the summer. – It is part of my identity, I would say, said Laukli in the podcast, which has been mentioned by Dagbladet earlier. VERSATILE: Sophia Laukli is best on the downhill, both with and without skis on her feet. Photo: AFP At a training camp in October, she realized that partying was part of her routine. – I woke up on Sunday and realized that “this is madness”. It’s been a long time since I woke up without a hangover on a Sunday. I counted backwards and found that I have been partying every single Saturday from the first week in April to the end of October. I didn’t feel so proud then, explained Laukli. – Wasn’t the intention. It made several headlines in the media before Christmas. Now she tells news about the reactions. – I think it was quite a unique thing to come up with. That’s probably why it got that attention. It was not my intention for it to come out the way it did in the media. It is important for me to show that I have a life outside of cross-country skiing as well, even though skiing is super important to me, says the Norwegian-American. BALANCE: For Laukli, the party is an important social break, where she gets her mind off the training day, which helps her find motivation to win races. Photo: AP Ho emphasizes that distractions and balance are important to keep motivation up. – It is essential for me. Since I run in the summer, there are competitions 11 out of 12 months a year. There is a lot to find motivation for. To keep things going, I have to mentally separate myself from training. I have to have a social balance on the outside, to be able to enjoy sport as much as possible. The balance between party and fun and training on skis and on the trail has proven to be particularly good. But even though Laukli crushed all her competitors up the alpine hill in Val di Fiemme, she doesn’t dare believe in an Olympic medal quite yet. – I don’t think I’m the type to think that far ahead, but it would have been fantastic. I am very excited to hopefully get to the Olympics, and have the idea of medals at the back of my mind. First I’ll be happy about the victory here. ON THE SAME TEAM: In winter, Sophia Laukli is on a team with the world’s best cross-country skier, Jessie Diggins. Photo: EMMA WALLSKOG / BILDBYRÅN Diggins: – Proud of her Tour de Ski winner Jessie Diggins is full of praise for her teammate, and thanks for the help on the last stage. – We had a plan to find each other and protect each other, and that really helped me. I am very proud of her, says Diggins to news. Coach Jostein Vinjerui in Team Aker Dæhlie is also proud. He laughs at the party headlines. – That is probably a bit of an exaggeration. She has trained really well this summer, says Vinjerui. He feels confident that Laukli is on her way to establishing herself as one of the very best in the world, without putting pressure on her before the Olympics in 2026. – But I think that the Olympics in 2026 can be fun, he says. Here Hovland is surprised 01:00 Forgets what he’s going to say 00:45 Warholm has his own ability to calm the nerves 01:41 I’ve never seen such a soft-spoken biathlete in my life! 00:34 Show more
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Sophia Laukli made headlines with her party reveal – so she smashed everyone – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
