The Ford Smart Energy Cup Season 2023/2024 ends next weekend, with three competitions in Sollefteå, Sweden. There, 31-year-old Viktor Brännmark will make his last races as an elite skier.

“I have skied all the Swedish Cups in the last ten years. And it will be very emotional. I did my last interval session at home at the ski stadium in Östersund before going to the Swedish Championships, which felt extremely emotional, so also at the Championships, and it will also be in Sollefteå. But I feel that I am done with this now,” says Brännmark.

Brännmark did his first Swedish Championships race in 2010. Two years ago, he won the first medal, a bronze, in the 50km race.

On Monday, he won the first Swedish Championships gold of his career during the relay with Fredrik Andersson and Johan Häggström with the Piteå Elite SK.

Also Read: Piteå Elit SK 1 wins the men’s relay at the Swedish Championships Week

“It was big. I knew before the start that it was the last chance. You must tip your hat and thank Johan for the finish. He did it perfectly. I saw that he clenched his fist when he crossed the finish line and that Edvin (Anger, Åsarna) threw the poles. But we didn’t dare to celebrate until we saw the photo finish,” says Brännmark to Langd.se.

Is this the strongest memory of your skiing career?

“No, I would say it was the Swedish Championships 50km in Gällivare five years ago. Johan started last, Björn (Sandström) was second to last, and I a minute and a half ahead of Johan. They caught up, and we formed a group in the woods. Johan won, Björn won his first Swedish Championships medal, and I finished sixth. It was awesome. Then it is clear that it was huge to win my first individual medal in the 50km in 2022 and then, of course, the gold on Monday,” says Brännmark.

What makes you choose to quit now?

“It’s a feeling that developed during the summer and autumn. The 2022/2023 season was the best I’ve done; I made my best results in the Scandinavian Cup (13th in Falun) and the World Cup (21st in the 50km in Holmenkollen). For this season, I chose to try to adjust my training to see if I could take the next step. But it wasn’t a huge success. And then I feel ready,” says Brännmark.

But will you continue elite sports?

“I’m done with cross-country skiing, but I won’t stop doing sports or investing as an elite athlete,” says Brännmark confidentially.

This summer, he showed high capacity as a runner when he was 16th at the Stockholm Marathon. He was registered for the Berlin Marathon but was injured and could not start.

Now, he has registered for the race in the German capital again.

“I have high goals, and the focus will be one hundred percent on the marathon.”

Can you transfer your skiing training to running, or will it be a completely different setup?

 “It will look completely different, and it feels very nice. I have looked a lot at the “Norwegian system” with double thresholds. It feels exciting, and now that I’m about to retire as an elite skier, I’ve bought my first lactate equipment,” says Brännmark with a laugh.

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