News
Wednesday, March 12: Former World Champion Jonna Borgström is planning a dramatic return to racing in this year’s UIM-ABP Aquabike Circuit Pro World Championship. The 27-year-old Swede has been out of action for the last two and a half years after various mishaps and injuries.
“I will finally be back racing again this year after a 2.5-year break,” said the Henan-based racer. “I’m really looking forward to this season, where I will be racing the World Championship and the Swedish Championship. We haven’t decided yet if we will do any other championships.
“I had almost one and a half years off all my training. I needed a break. Now, when I’m back training again I’ve got a different approach than I had before. It’s not as intense and heavy as it used to be but I feel like this is more beneficial for me at the moment and, every time I get out on the water, I feel like I’m making progress. If it will be enough to be up against the ladies at the top we are just going to have to wait and see. But I think to be back racing at their level is going to be a challenge.”
After becoming European Pro-Am champion in 2013, Jonna appeared in the UIM-ABP points at the 2014 Grand Prix of Italy, when she and Emma-Nellie Ortendahl made one-off appearances that season. The following year, she missed just one round of the World Championship and finished eighth in the rankings, a point behind Kylie Ellmers, after picking up points in each of the six Motos in Qatar, Italy and China.
Again, she missed one Grand Prix in 2016 on her way to 11th place in the World Championship but then tackled a full programme of races in 2017 to finish fifth, her best results behind a pair of third places in Italy and Sharjah.
Fifth overall was again achieved in 2018 and then her best season to that date came in 2019 before the global travel restrictions. Jonna finished the year in second place behind Ortendahl, picked up nine podium finishes from 12 Motos and earning her first win in Moto 3 in Sharjah.
She continued that good form into the start of the 2020 season with Moto 1 success in Kuwait and bounced back from the lock downs to claim the World Championship title in 2021 with two Moto wins and four more podium finishes in Sardinia and Kuwait. The Swede continued her impressive form into 2022 and finished the year behind Jasmiin Ypraus and Jessica Chavanne after picking up another Moto win in Sardinia. Then injury hit.
“There have been a few different injuries and rehab journeys during my time away,” added the Swede. “I took this break first because I had problems with my shoulders and racing got too painful. It took a lot longer than I expected but my shoulders are finally strong and healthy again.
“Then, in December 2023, I had to do a surgery on my lower back to remove a nerve tumour. The tumour was benign but at that time it had grown so much so there was no other option than to remove it. It took a few months to recover but today I am 100% recovered.
“Then, this last December, I had a little accident in the gym which resulted in a quite severe damage to my right eye. The retina broke and I had to do surgery quickly to prevent me from becoming blind on that eye. Now I’m still in the recovery phase after this surgery. Luckily, the retina has healed well but my vision is still quite impaired on that eye and we don’t know yet if it’s just temporary or not. Luckily, I can wear contact lenses if necessarily while racing so I don’t see this is an issue coming back to racing.“This time away has been a bit challenging, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and gotten stronger through the ups and downs. So, I am really looking forward to finally be back on the starting line this year!”