And that’s how things went. Anna became a global super star in the seasons that followed, and we went from one victory to the next. As much as I look back on that time with joy and pride, I also remember the hardships and the gradual burnout. Because athletic success is linked above all to one thing: sacrifice! You give up an incredible amount—things the average person can’t even imagine.

First and foremost, it’s your own family. Siblings get married, have children, get divorced; parents are rushed to the emergency room in critical condition and are fighting for their lives—and you only catch a glimpse of all this because you’re thousands of miles away. When it finally hits you, the guilt is almost unbearable, and you wonder if it’s really all worth it.

Your own apartment goes from being a beloved sanctuary to just another interchangeable set of four walls where you store your stuff. The only way you know what your friends are up to is from the two conversations you have at Christmas and on your birthday. If you do happen to stumble into a relationship, it’s doomed to fail from the start, and the idea of starting a family of your own is a distant dream from another world.

The snow season lasts ten months, and during the remaining two months, you take a short vacation and get organized and ready for the new season. Still, for a long time, none of that matters. The fire inside burns bright, and athletic ambition makes up for it all. But eventually, the fire dies out—and for me, that happened in the spring of 2019, so I pulled the plug.

It was an incredibly wonderful time, and I wouldn't want to have missed a single second of it. But it's also okay that it's over now and life goes on.