Cross-country: Moa Ilar on battling injury: “I stuck my head in the sand”

Swedish cross-country skier Moa Ilar says she spent last season competing through significant pain in a foot first operated on in 2017, a problem that flared up just before the season started. She chose to keep racing and admits she downplayed the injury: “I basically stuck my head in the sand.”

Despite the ongoing issue, Ilar finished the season with a bang, winning a World Cup 10 km in Oslo. However, the injury contributed to a disappointing World Championships. By the final weekend in Lahti, she realized the severity of the problem when her foot was so swollen that she struggled to get her boot on, initially thinking something was wrong with the boot itself.

After the season, she underwent surgery. Following a summer focused heavily on rehabilitation, Ilar says she is now back and close to full strength. In the accompanying video, she explains which weakness she improved thanks to the rehab process.