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aservin
11-05-2002, 02:59 PM
Here is a new article about Lina Johansson from a Swedish newspaper. They wrote about her now because she have made the junior grand prix final. It`s very big news in Sweden.



http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=672&a=73402 (http://)

I will translate the article for you who don`t can read swedish.


Young Lina can already the art

The figureskatingworld is well mapped. Therefor many people in the figureskating world who knows all about everyone was surprised on the practise of the 5th junior grand prix in Bratislava.

A young, small and unknown skater did tripple after tripple on the ice.

"Swedish? Is that possible? Trained in USA? No.

The astonishment was not so strange. Because not even the Swedish figureskating association knew how good Lina was. She was only the substitute to the competition and was going because one other skater was injured. It was a short time for her to prepare and she didn`t get any country clothes with her in her bagage. So it wasn`t so strange that the experts didn´t know from what country she was. She walked around in her Malmö figureskatingclub clothes.

So unexperienced and so unafraid, Lina skated like a World star. The short program was a hit and in the long program was it only the tripple salcow who let her down. The victory was sensational and when the news that Åsa Persson not was going to Chemnitz, Lina went there and finished fourth.

Every skater are allowed to do two competitions to qualifie to the top 8 who is going to the final in Haag. Lina Johansson was very nervous at home when the 8th competition in Italy was this weekeand.

It went for the best. And she was going to the final.

Lina Johansson had her 14th birthday the 26th of September. The girls she are competing againt are allowed to be 19 years old.

Carina Skoog at the Swedish figureskating associationg says that this is the biggest achivement for swedish figureskating since Gillis Grafström and Ulrich Salchows days.

-This is a fantastic brakethrough. We have knowed her as a noviceskater, but she is still very knew for us, Skoog says.

For the people around the rink in Malmö Lina Johansson is a wellknowned face. She was six years old when Ela Magnusson saw her in the icehockey school.

- I thought that she was a boy because she had galler at her helmet, Ela explain. Ela is a former eliteskater from Poland.

1989 she was touring whith Holiday on ice, came to Malmö, and met her husband Lars and is now the coach to Lina Johansson.

Ela is a little bit low in her talking about Lina. - I have seen many talanted girls who have been just talanted like Lina. The big difference is her mentality. She is loves the sport and loves to practise to get better, Ela says.

Swedish figureskating ís not known to have so big results in modern time. And here comes an 8th grader from Dammfriskolan in Malmö and do five tripplejumps and already have practised tripple axel a few times.

Lina is only 150 cm and weight 38 kilos.

It take much strength to do tripplejumps. Lina has an strength trainer who is the strenghtrainer to MIF redhawks, the hockey team. A big help in her development as a skater has ISU:s talent program been. Here skaters from lesser known figurekating countries have had she chance to work under the best coaches in the world. This summer Lina also was in Switzerland for two weeks to work for Viktor Kudriatsev and there she saw who much work you have to do to be a good figureskater.

Ela Magnusson is not afraid for Linas development for the future. Not the mental and not the physical. -Both her parents are short. I don´t think that Lina will be bigger than 155.

As an immigrant to Sweden she is surprised over that sweden thinks that it is inpossible to take up an superstar in figureskating at home. The complain about little icetime and they say that you have to be in North america to be a good skater.

-Sweden is a very good country and we have very big stars in Tennis , Icehockey and many other sports. Why not in figureskating? We wish that we had better icetimes but it is not much more that we need.

It will be many travels around the world for Lina in the future, but not necesserely a move to USA. The stability with the family and friends in Malmö will come first at the moment.

In january is it figureskatingparty in Linas hometown, but the town´s new star is one year to young to compete in Europeans. Instead she have to set her goals to junior grand prix final, Europeans youth olympics days and junior worlds.

In Ela Magnussons head there is much bigger things in her mind. - We are practising for the Winterolympics in Torin 2006.

How good do you think that Lina can be if she continue to develop as a skater as she have done know?

-Sarah Hughes was 16 years old when she took olympic gold in Salt Lake City. So why is it impossible for Lina?

Smiley
11-05-2002, 06:16 PM
Very nice!!!!
Lina is a very nice girl and a VERY VERY talented figure skater! I had the opportunity to compete with her in a JGP this fall and she is just amazing! Best of Luck to her in the Junior Grand Prix Final and the rest of her season!! :)

BigB0882
11-05-2002, 06:56 PM
Smiley, I didn't know you skated and on such a high level. Wow, neato!

Luenatic
11-06-2002, 11:10 AM
Thanks so much for translating the article. Hopefully we'll be seeing Lina on US TV soon. Good luck Lina on Jr GPF!

aservin
11-06-2002, 12:34 PM
One more new article:

Figureskater from Malmö gives sweden hope

14-year old Lina Johansson will compete against seven other girls in the junior grand prix final.

In the figureskatingfamily they say that she is the biggest who has happened to Swedish figureskating since Gillis Grafströms and Ulrich Salcows days.

Only 14 years old has she qualified to the junior grand prix final. Youngest of everyone, Lina Johansson from Malmö is one of 8 competitors in the final in December. That was ready this weekend.

-We thought that she would do it, but now it is confirmed, says her coach Ela Magnusson.

Ela planes everything her young skater do. And now they will train hard for the junior grand prix final in Haag.

-It is a very big thing. The comparison to Gillis Grafström and Ulrich Salcow is not so out in the blue, Ela Magnusson says.

This sunday the eight and last competition of the junior grand prix took place in Milano. Lina wasn´t there, but her points she earned in Bratislava and Chemnitz took her to the final. ¨

-Over hundred skaters from all around the world tried to go to the final. Now we have to improvise again.

It is impossible to plan this season for this supertalent. She is developing faster than anyone have thought.

-This monday morning I had a talk with the principle of her school about her schooltime. She will miss alot of school this winter and the school is very important.

The result of Linas achievments will probably be some sort of figureskating profile on the school. But then the icetime we have has to be better.

-I have talked about the ice with the instant of sport. Now we has a skater who is moving against the worlds best, then we can´t be without ice in March, Ela Magnusson says.
The practiserink early mornings and late nights is what we get. But it has been enough to reach the top among the juniors.

Next year she has a chance to show the public in Malmö her achievments. In December 2003 Malmö will host the junior grand prix final.

-It will be one of our goals next season. But next year Lina is old enough to compete against the seniors. Our goals will be to compete in both Europeans and Worlds. We have to improvise.

In January the Europes best will come to Malmö. At that time Lina isn´t at home. At that time she will compete in the Europeans Youth Olympic Days in Ljubljana.

-It had been fun for her to be home at the Europeans in her hometown, but the competitions is at the same time.

Her next competition will be the swedish junior nationals in Uddevalla the 7-8th of december. One day at home and then she is going to Haag.

A trip that her coach is afraid of.

-On our way home from Chemnitz we missed the flight from Frankfurt and Linas bagage was lost.....

After the 11th of September last year you are not allowed to take your skates in your hand bagage. The bagage was found, but Ela and Lina had some nerous hours of wait.

-The problem with the skates we have to solve with the swedish figureskating association in some way. As near of a heartattack I have never been. And will not let it happen again., Ela Magnusson says.

Luenatic
11-06-2002, 03:06 PM
aservin, do you have a pix of Lina to share with us? Link to the Swedish news articles maybe? Just curious what does Lina look like.

KBW
11-06-2002, 04:01 PM
The article that this thread refers to ( HERE (http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=672&a=73402 ) ) has two pics - a headshot and a spin photo.

Sylvia
11-06-2002, 04:15 PM
And here's another head shot of Lina from the Swedish federation site after her surprise gold at the Bratislava JGP last month:
http://www.skatesweden.nu/pressrelease_021006_LinaJohansson.htm

Thanks so much, aservin, for translating these articles! It's great to see up-and-coming figure skaters from around the world receiving local media coverage.

aservin
11-07-2002, 07:44 AM
C:\Documents and Settings\Anneli\Mina dokument\Mina bild C:\Documents and Settings\Anneli\Mina dokument\Mina bilder C:\Documents and Settings\Anneli\Mina dokument\Mina bilder

oubik
11-07-2002, 09:48 AM
Oh Swedes you´re a lucky nation. There has not been any info in Czech newspapers about Tomas Verner and his qualification to final. :( :?: :(

aservin
11-07-2002, 12:45 PM
Oubic, you have right. We are lucky in sweden to get articles in the newspapers. It is not that usuall here as well. This time they have been very interested in her. Maybe 5 newspapers and the childrens sportnews has done a program of her and this month the sportnews will do one of her to. She is very big news in Sweden at the moment. It is because it is the first time a Swedish skater has qualified to any grand prix final and it is the first time a swedish skater jumps all tripplejumps so consistent, and the big news is that se only is 14 years old!!! I am happy for her and I practise together with her every day in Malmö. If you have some questions I will answer them.

oubik
11-08-2002, 03:16 AM
Annie,

thanks for those infos. I hope the federation will play "saftely" with her, she is so young to fulfill all the expectations now. Let her grow easily. I know what I´m talking about. Lucie Krausova did all the triple jumps at the age of 12. Since this point the Czech federation started to send her everywhere and pressured her to take part in both junior and senior nationals. Now, she lost a lot from her consistency as she is mentally tired (even if her JGP showings this year was very good), same happpened to Lukas Rakowski, he was JGP finalist some 4 years ago but since this point trainers were fighting to train him, officials were fighting to support him in the competitions and he did not fulfill any dream (even his 5th place in Zagreb´s short is good). I fear the same becomes with Tomas Verner.

Give my best regards to Lina, it was nice to see her skating live in Bratislava.

Karel