Linn Sandstrom: “Everyone said we should have been resting, but we even did a video when I was training on one leg because, for me, not training is not an option.”

Linn Sandstrom: “Everyone said we should have been resting, but we even did a video when I was training on one leg because, for me, not training is not an option.”

One day, somebody will write an autobiography for Linn Sandstrom. It is, in many ways, a quite remarkable and unlikely story. Born in Brazil and adopted at 7 weeks, she lived her early years in Sweden, where she became an international table tennis star. Sandstrom then found herself in Australia, and a boxing career that started as a hobby to lose some weight morphed into something more. Much more. She lost her first three amateur fights, and her early days as a professional were less than inspiring. Sandstrom turned pro in 2020, and after four fights, she had just one solitary win. But since a controversial defeat to Natalie Hills in 2021, Sandstrom hasn’t lost since. Six wins on the bounce have got the super-flyweight a world ranking, and without a serious injury, Sandstrom would have already had a world title shot. A story of perseverance and hard work.

That serious injury is a complete rupture of her Achilles tendon. Even Sandstrom couldn’t fight on one leg. Although if she could have, she would. I have interviewed hundreds of fighters, and nobody is more consumed, obsessed even with her craft. With only her rescue dog for company, the solitude of the sport is her best friend. I doubt there is a more dedicated fighter than Linn Sandstrom.

“It’s obviously been an eventful last 12 weeks,” the first words said over Zoom. It’s probably one of the great understatements. Her last fight in May ended in a technical draw in Malmo against Johana Zuniga, a fight Sandstrom believed she was well on her way to winning. That world ranking was about to earn the Brazilian-born fighter her chance. But then disaster struck.

“I came back from my last fight in Sweden and went straight back into training because I learned a lot from that fight. I really grew as a fighter, and I felt I was getting a lot closer to the elite. We really pushed the training load,” Sandstrom relayed to FightPost about the day her entire year changed trajectory. “I haven’t been much of a runner, but we really started pushing on in training. We started sprinting a lot and really pushing to my limits. And then, one day, I was really tired, but since I was stepping it up, I was still going to do this session and just push through it. Then, as I was sprinting, I pushed off after a turn and I felt it snap. I fell down to the ground. I didn’t say a word, but I knew what I had done straight away. It took a while for someone to come, but I was taken to the gym to do a Thompson Test on my Achilles. Luckily for me, I have been sponsored by a physio centre, so we went to their lab to do an evaluation. They booked me in for an MRI. But then I went back and finished my strength session, and they put me in a boot. We waited for the results of the MRI, which showed it was a complete rupture, and we were booked in for an operation a few days later.”

Sandstrom switched everything off. A few social media posts to track her recovery were the only signs of life in the weeks and months that followed. Like everything else she does, Sandstrom was all in on her recovery. She didn’t crumble. Her desire only hardened. Within seconds of realising what she was dealing with, Sandstrom was plotting her comeback.

“I only cried once when the surgeon said there was no way you would come back from this for 9-12 months. He said this is one of the worst injuries you could possibly have.” Not for the first time Sandstrom set about proving people wrong. After a few day’s rest, that comeback began.

“When you have the surgery, it is important to rest completely for three days, and you have to elevate your leg, and we did that. But after that post-surgery, I have been in the gym training three times a day, with the rehab on top of that. I’ve spent about six hours a day on my recovery, and I have still trained exactly the same as I did before the injury.”

Proving the medical experts wrong on quite an astonishing level, Sandstrom found herself months ahead of schedule. Using every method available to her, it was a simply unbelievable and inspiring route back to full fitness. Just eight weeks after the injury, she found herself back in America for a training camp.

“Tony said you will not just be able to go to Los Angeles. You will be able to box in Los Angeles,” words from her coach Tony Del Vecchio that even she initially doubted. “And then, eight weeks after blood, sweat, and tears, we went, and I was actually walking, and I was actually boxing and doing pads in LA. I am now on the verge of starting to spar now. I knew I was going to come back and come back even stronger.

“Everyone said we should have been resting, but we even did a video when I was training on one leg because, for me, not training is not an option. Even people in the gym, when I walked in on one leg they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Twelve weeks on, I am walking, and walking perfectly, and training perfectly. We are hoping to be able to spar on 1st November.”

The bond with Del Vecchio seems special and Sandstrom relayed her thanks and appreciation for her coach being there every step of the way throughout the last few months.

Sandstrom has been doubted all the way through her boxing career. That extremely difficult start was soon replaced by six straight wins in a globetrotting 2022. Overcoming obstacles is nothing new to the super-flyweight contender. The injury is just the latest hurdle. The experience she believes will make her a better fighter and good preparation for the world title opportunities that look set to follow early next year.

“I am very single-minded. I have obviously gone through a lot in my past, and nothing stopped me even back then. There were times I didn’t want to go to training because people wanted to see me fail. That has driven me on through this injury. If I can overcome this injury, which people are saying is impossible, I will be ready for those world titles.

“I am sitting down more on my punches because we are concentrating more on my strength. I am pretty much back in full camp now. The only thing missing is sparring. I am going to do some light sparring next week and then one of my good friends will come over in December to do some sparring with me and then we will be going back to Los Angeles for another training camp, the girls over there are just killers. At the end of January or early February. We are hoping to have a very big locked-in for that date. It will be the biggest fight I have ever had.”

There have already been offers to fight for a world title, more will surely follow. Make no mistake, talks are ongoing. Her dream fight could very easily be next.