PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Norway has real luxury problems in cross-country skiing.
But now rival Finland comes with a most unexpected helping hand.
– You can apply for Finnish citizenship, says Finnish skiing legend Sami Jauhojärvi to Viaplay Finland.
Norway’s men’s skaters completely dominated during the Ski World Championships 2023 and took care of all the gold medals in Slovenian Planica. The competition was also so brutal that the national team management received a lot of criticism regardless of which skaters they chose to take to the races.
Norwegian dominance
The biggest criticism was the decision to poke Simen Hegstad Krüger from the closing five miles, despite the fact that he won three WC gold medals during the championship. Even the top skater Hans Christer Holund was poked from the five-mile when Norway had brutal difficulty in choosing which riders would be allowed to run the last race in the WC.
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However, one who got the chance was Emil Iversen, but that was only because he was the reigning world champion in the five-mile. Without the WC gold from Oberstdorf in 2021, Iversen would probably have had no chance in the competition.
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The Finnish proposal
But now the rival Finland comes with a most unexpected and controversial proposal to the Norwegian skaters. The Finnish skiing legend Sami Jauhojärvi sends a clear pass to Iversen to leave Norway and move to Finland instead.
– If Emil is interested, he can move to Finland and apply for Finnish citizenship, the Finn tells Viaplay Finland and also offers to open up his home to the Norwegian.
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Jauhojärvi and Iversen have had their quarrels with each other in the tracks over the years and the Norwegian has been touched by the Finn’s words. And sends a clear pass back that he is flattered by the proposal to become a Finnish citizen.
– I will definitely think about it. Sami can call or send a message, says Iversen jokingly to the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.
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Emil Iversen has really had to struggle in recent years and the results have not been forthcoming. Now he fears that there won’t be any more chances in the Norwegian national team again.
– It looks bad. I don’t really deserve a place in the national team. Maybe I should try something new. In my head, there is probably no place for me in the national team next year, says Iversen to the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.
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