Cross-country: Team boss Anders Byström: Not certain Sweden will use all Olympic quota places

Sweden has the right to eight Olympic quota places in the men's cross‑country events for Milan–Cortina 2026, but it is not certain the country will send eight men.

Team manager Anders Byström told SVT Sport that the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) has a requirement that athletes must have achieved results and shown form indicating they can compete for at least a 12th place at the Olympics. SOK therefore has a say in whether all quota spots are used.

On the women's side Sweden has already selected eight athletes. For the men four have been named so far: Edvin Anger, William Poromaa, Anton Grahn and Alvar Myhlback. Byström points out that only Gustaf Berglund, among the non‑selected men, has a top‑12 World Cup result this season (11th in the 10 km classic in Ruka).

Byström said Sweden has not yet seen the results it wanted in the first three World Cup weekends, and that performances in the Tour de Ski are an important opportunity for athletes to prove they deserve Olympic selection. He cited Truls Gisselman’s stronger performance in the recent Tour 10 km as the sort of improvement selectors want to see.

The article includes a video of Byström explaining his reasoning and links to related coverage of Swedish selections and athlete news.