When the world’s best athletes descend on Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium for Sunday’s BAUHAUS-galan, few competitors will be cheered more loudly than Swedish best friends Maja \u00c5skag and Julia Henriksson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pair have shared a close bond ever since first rooming together as members of the Swedish national team in 2021, and both arrive at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting with ambitions that stretch beyond a strong performance in front of home fans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham looming in August, both believe a successful afternoon on home soil could provide the perfect springboard towards a first senior international medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For \u00c5skag, the signs are already encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 22-year-old arrives in Stockholm buoyed by a season’s best triple jump of 14.24m in Greece earlier this week, a mark that not only underlined her improving form but also secured the qualifying standard for Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“So I competed last weekend, and I felt heavy and slow,” she said. “But then I was in Greece two days ago, I competed in the triple jump and did 14.24m, so that was a season best and a European standard for Birmingham. So, yes, I’m in good shape.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00c5skag burst onto the international scene in spectacular fashion in 2021, claiming the long jump and triple jump double at both the World and European U20 Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenging transition to the main stage has not been instant, but she feels she is now beginning to convert that prodigious junior promise into senior success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s five years now, and last year I was in two world finals, so I think that was a big step for me, just getting out on a world stage, performing and getting to the finals,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I feel like the next step is to take a medal. That’s my goal. I want to take a medal at the European Championships. I don’t want to sit here and lie. That’s the goal. Anything can happen, but that’s what I’m aiming for.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday’s long jump competition will provide a significant test of her progress. The Swede will line up against a world-class field featuring Germany’s Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo and Italy’s twice Diamond League Final winner Larissa Iapichino. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet where a younger \u00c5skag may once have been intimidated by the occasion, experience has brought confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Four years ago, when I did my first BAUHAUS-Galan, I was so nervous,” she recalled. “I didn’t see anyone I knew from the junior championships. These were big names \u2013 the people I saw on TV when I started doing track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Four years ago I would just be looking at them and being shy, but now, after World Championships, European Championships and competitions like this, I feel so much more confident.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than being overwhelmed by the calibre of opposition, \u00c5skag is determined to embrace the occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I just think it’s going to be fun. Sometimes I think we overthink it and take it too seriously. You should be focused, but we’re just jumping in sand \u2013 we should not overthink it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I love to do it. It’s fun, so I just try to stick to that feeling and that mindset. Then I can relax and do the things I know I’m good at.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While \u00c5skag will be aiming to soar in the long jump pit, Henriksson will be chasing speed on the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Swedish champion, who finished sixth in the 200m at the European Championships in Rome last summer, opens her outdoor campaign in the women’s 100m against a field that includes reigning world 100m and 200m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Henriksson, there could hardly be a better place to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m so excited to start the season, and it’s the best time to do it here in BAUHAUS-Galan,” she said. “It’s the best crowd, the best atmosphere, so I’m ready.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her fondest memory of the meeting came two years ago when she finished second over 200m and broke 23 seconds for the first time despite battling a strong headwind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My favourite memory is two years ago when I came in second place in the 200m and did a sub-23 for the first time in minus two. After that we went to Europeans, so I had a really good feeling going over there.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She hopes history can repeat itself this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having reached the European final in Rome, Henriksson is now targeting a place on the podium in Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s the biggest goal, of course,” she said. “Last time I came in sixth, and now I’m hoping for better and aiming for a medal.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is another target within touching distance too. Henriksson’s personal best of 11.19 places her just 0.03 seconds outside the Swedish record, a mark she carries into every race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My PB is 11.19 and the Swedish record is 11.16, so I’m pretty close,” she said. “I’m always aiming for that one in every race.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As two of Sweden’s brightest athletics stars prepare to compete in front of a passionate home crowd, Sunday’s BAUHAUS-Galan offers more than just an early-season test. For \u00c5skag and Henriksson, it represents an opportunity to build momentum, confidence and belief ahead of the biggest championship of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the encouragement of a packed Stockholm Olympic Stadium can help propel the best friends towards Birmingham in August, Sunday’s meeting could prove to be an important step on the road to European medal success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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