PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The great concern about cross-country skiing is growing more and more.
In Norway, the legendary Marit Björgen takes the sad development very seriously.
But now comes the very best advice: Do as Gunde Svan did!
Right now there is a big debate about the future of cross-country skiing. Many skiing profiles have expressed their concerns about the survival of the sport after a lack of interest and decreasing engagement.
Trouble in Norway
The big dominant Norway takes the situation very seriously and other sports are taking over more and more in the country. Interest around the world also drops when fewer countries are participating and competing at the top, as both Sweden and Norway have dominated the podium places in recent years.
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The icon Marit Björgen is the latest in the line to express her great concern and she thinks it is up to the skiers themselves to create greater interest in the sport. The Norwegian giant wants more skaters to take greater responsibility in the media and offer more of themselves in order for the sport to grow.
READ MORE: The dark reason why Gunde Svan never drank a single drop of alcohol in his life: “It was dangerous”
Do like Gunde!
Now comes a perfectly sound piece of advice to Norway and the entire skiing world. The Chronicler Torbjörn Nordvallformer press manager for the Swedish national ski team and advisor to Charlotte Kallawrites in the Norwegian newspaper Nettavisen that all skaters should learn from the Swedish legend Gunde Swan.
“Gunde was an emotional firework and did what most competitors did not at all: He saw the media as a resource! Gunde Svan became a media magnet, an early predecessor of Petter Northug when it came to the art of getting the most and the best possible attention. Gunde was smart and could create great news value and entertainment out of things that sponsors couldn’t even dream of when they signed him. The sponsors got double value for their money,” writes Nordvall in his column.
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Svan was the great Swedish skiing hero of the 80s and reaped great success on the slopes with a total of 17 Olympic and World Cup medals and won the overall World Cup five times in his career. And he was also by far the best when it came to offering himself and making cross-country skiing interesting.
“The media and the people loved the boy from Skamhed, outside Vansbro in Dalarna. The Swedish Skiing Association has a lot to thank Gunde for. As a PR figure for the sport, he was brilliant, even if not everything he said or did was so good. Elite athletes who want to give more life to their brand and take it one step further can gain much more exposure by learning from the Gunde era,” writes Nordvall in the Norwegian newspaper.
READ MORE: Ferry Svan’s honest words about father Gunde Svan – the son now answers what everyone is wondering: “All my life”
In addition to cross-country skiing, Gunde Svan offered classic antics such as showering at record speed, eating enormous amounts of porridge, he was the first with his own steer, had his own chef, sharpened his pole tips to be faster, built his very own museum and once appeared with a two meter long pole to ski like Gustav Vasa. Now Torbjörn Nordvall wants to see more active skaters who follow Gunde’s brilliant attempt to make the sport more fun and interesting for the public.
“Gunde Svan didn’t even drink alcohol, not even coffee. In the media, he appeared as an ascetic who left nothing to chance. So listen to Björgen and take her words seriously. Then think innovatively like Gunde did in the 80s. Then the interest in cross-country skiing will increase, because strong profiles are needed who offer themselves and think outside the box. This is in short supply today,” he writes in the column.
Surely it is a great suggestion that more people should do like Gunde Svan? Share the article and have your say!