PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Finally, it’s time for the new ski season again!
Then Norway directs a great deal of jealousy towards Frida Karlsson.
– We have a lot to learn from her, says columnist Ernst A. Lersveen to Nettavisen.
Summer is over and autumn has flown by. Winter is finally here again and it’s time for the ski season to start in earnest with the premiere weekend at the World Cup in Ruka, Finland.
Big worries in Norway
Our Swedish national team skaters enter the season with great expectations, but it is starting to flare up into a crisis at worst rival Norway. Many Norwegians have expressed concern about skiing in the country when it comes to declining interest and a worsening economy.
READ MORE: The truth about Kristine Stavås Skistad’s feelings for the Swedish skiers
Sponsors are not as interested in cross-country skiing anymore and the Norwegian national ski team is accused of being far too profileless and boring. Where the stars are criticized for not offering themselves in interviews and on social media.
– Norway has a lot to learn from, above all, Frida Karlsson, says the Norwegian columnist Ernst A. Lersveen to the newspaper Nettavisen.
– I think that we in Norway have had so much success that press meetings are seen as something you have to attend. There is something negative there: “Oh, press conference again.” We have reached the level where they have been spoiled.
Paying tribute to Frida Karlsson
Experienced ski profile Lersveen points out Frida Karlsson as a great role model and where the clearest example is when the Swede cut her hair Peter Northug during the Tour de Ski 2023.
– It turned out fantastically well, but I can only state one thing. If I had made the proposal to the Norwegian national team, then the answer would have been: “No, no”. They had looked at me stupidly, so great is the contrast. But that attitude must change – without a doubt!, he says in his criticism.
READ MORE: Ebba Andersson’s anger towards SVT: “What is this?”
Skid-Norway looks enviously at Sweden, where many national team skiers have become big on social media because they offer themselves.
– They consistently perform better as skiers and they perform significantly better as sponsor objects and crowd favourites, they have contributed to the fact that the interest in cross-country skiing in Sweden is possibly at a record high. It is of course linked to the results, but it is not enough only in 2024, says the expert Petter Soleng Skinstad to the newspaper.
– They offer themselves and they dare to be themselves. It is not only Frida Karlsson who does a good job there. Ebba Andersson has also spent the summer talking on the radio and stands up for lots of different things. So do Jonna Sundling and Emma Ribom, says Skinstad.
Columnist Ernst A. Lersveen is very concerned about Norwegian skiing and demands that the Norwegian national skiing team take responsibility.
– After all, it is someone at the ski association who has to sell this product and they must understand that it is not enough to do a few good races and say a few obvious things afterwards. It is not enough for the sponsors. It’s been a long time since it was this gray. The battle for attention is so tough and this is heavy for cross-country skiing, says the Norwegian with a sigh.
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