The case in summary • Solfrid Koanda is the first Norwegian woman at the age of 20 to win individual gold in the Summer Olympics.• She started weightlifting four years ago and is now European champion, world champion and Olympic champion.• Koanda had a tough childhood and youth . She moved to Norway when she was 9 and ended up in a foster home when she was 15.• She started training to get a smaller body, but gradually changed her focus to appreciating her own strength.• After the Olympic gold, she has become a role model for many, and receives messages from people who say they look up to her.• Koanda hopes to continue to focus on weightlifting full time, but needs financial support to be able to do so. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. In the premises of Lillesand Crossfit, Solfrid Koanda stands with trainer Frank Leandro Fredriksen. Koanda has recently returned home after winning Olympic gold in Paris. She started weightlifting four years ago. Today she is European champion, world champion and now also Olympic champion. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news She is thus the first Norwegian woman to win an individual gold in a summer Olympics in 20 years. It all started with a phone call from trainer Frank Leandro in 2020. – He was on much of the journey at the start and has always had faith. He was probably the one who started it all and showed me what weightlifting is, she says. Uncertain start The coach says that Koanda entered the first training sessions as an uncertain girl. – She didn’t have much self-confidence at the start. She thought it was scary. But I saw her physical strength right away, says Frank Leandro Fredriksen. Much has changed since then. – The fact that he had faith made me come out of my shell a little, says Koanda. Solfrid Koanda did not understand at first that she had become an Olympic champion. Strong already as a child There is little doubt that Koanda’s physique stands out. As a baby in diapers, she used to lift a sack of rice over her shoulder and run up the stairs at home. – It’s a childhood picture of me with muscles and it’s not that common. I have always had strength in me. Solfrid Koanda has always been strong. Already as a child she had clear muscles. Photo: Private With his Finnish mother and Ivorian father, Koanda moved from Finland to Norway as a 9-year-old. Everything was unknown. Ended up in foster home Koanda tells about tough childhood and youth years in Grimstad. At the age of 15, she ended up in a foster home. – It was already tough when I was 9 years old and moved to Norway and everything was unknown. Then it happened again. It was hard to deal with. It is tough for Solfrid Koanda to talk about his childhood and youth. Here she gets a hug from her friend Linn Neset. Photo: Snorre Tønset / screenshot news But at secondary school she met a person who would prove to be important to her. Her friend Linn Neset. – It was she who invited me to the gym for the first time. I can honestly admit that when I first started training it was to get a smaller body, says Koanda. Took hold of her own self-image Around the lunch table at her friend Linn’s in Grimstad, tears come when she talks about how she saw herself in her teenage years. – I didn’t feel that I mattered that much. I have worked a lot with my head, and focusing on just surviving, she says. Previously, Solfrid Koanda trained to get smaller. Now the focus is different. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news Koanda says she trained to get smaller thighs and arms. But eventually she managed to change her view of her own body. – I learned to change my focus. I should have big arms and big thighs. That’s what makes me good at what I’m good at, smiles Koanda. Has become a role model After the Olympic gold, many people have opened their eyes to the strong southern girl. – I get messages from known and unknown people who say they look up to me, and that they now dare to be themselves, and dare to do what they want. The support from most people means a lot. But now those with the money must also get on the field. Electrician or top athlete Koanda worked as an electrician until 2022, but cut his job to focus on weightlifting full-time. If she wants to invest further, she has to stop being an electrician. Coach Frank Leandro Fredriksen is clear. – If we want to see her for many more years, and towards the next Olympics, World Cup and European Championship, people must support her so that she can put in one hundred percent. Do you hope this is the last time we see you without sponsors on your clothes, Koanda? – I hope people notice the work I put in and will join me on the journey. If not, there will be job applications instead of sponsorship applications, smiles Koanda. Solfrid Koanda wants to invest further but is dependent on sponsors coming on board. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news Published 24.08.2024, at 19.45
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Trained to get smaller – then she changed her focus – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
