Halvor Egner Granerud became the first Norwegian to win the mountain week in 16 years.
Joel Sippola,
Janne Karinkanta
Norway has been a sovereign winter sports country for years, but it took the athletes of Vuonomaa an amazingly long time to achieve one title: conquering the mountain week.
Anders Jacobsen won the four-race tour in the 2006-2007 season, after which it was no less than 16 years before the Norwegian jumper celebrated another hill week victory. It took someone born in 1996 to break the tube Halvor Egner Granerudwho took this hill week in style with his three wins.
He was close to becoming the fourth “Grand Slam”, i.e. the jumper who won all four competitions during one tour, because in Innsbruck he was only narrowly second.
In the 2000s, Mäkiwiikko’s wins have been tight for the Norwegians anyway. In this millennium, there have also been Norwegians who have won the mountain week Sigurd Pettersen (2004).
– Of course, it’s a big deal in Norway. It has strong traditions as a ski jumping country, just like Finland. They have had a small break in hill week wins, so they will definitely appreciate, Urheilu’s expert Janne Ahonen tells.
Hurry up from kindergarten
Granerud has been one of the best hill jumpers in the world for a long time. He rose to the top in the 2020-2021 season. Even in the same year, the idea seemed absurd.
In the spring of 2020, Granerud mostly toured the Continental Cup, where he did not achieve significant success. He was involved in only two World Cup competitions.
At the Continental Cup, he didn’t hit the money.
– I lived on a savings account for a good year, Granerud said in December 2020 for NRK (you switch to another service).
Granerud applied for civilian jobs. In the summer of 2020, he worked as a kindergarten assistant.
However, for Granerud, it was not just about financial capital. She enjoyed getting kids excited about exercise.
The Oslo native felt that breaking away from the demands of professional sports helped him become a better jumper.
– It was a really great experience, and something I would like to do later. It was nice to do something different, Granerud said.
A wild leap into the mountain elite
In the following season, Granerud jumped to a new level with one throw. He achieved his first victory and podium in Ruka in November 2020. And once the Norwegian had tasted victory, there was no end. He became the first Norwegian to win five races in a row.
Granerud conquered the overall cup and achieved no less than 11 race victories.
Last season wasn’t as successful, but two World Cup victories and a third place in the mountain week took hold.
During the mountain week, Granerud returned to its level of two years ago. At Ruka, he broke the hill record of 150.5 meters, but there was still a little bit of throwing in the performances.
Ahonen says that Granerud stood out during the hilly week with his consistency.
– There were top jumps in the early season, but there were also a few weaker ones. Now, during the hill week, he jumped from one race to another at a top level.
Ahonen describes Granedur as a passionate mountain man.
– I know that he has done everything for the sport since he was a little boy. He is precise with tools. No matter how talented you are, but there is no fire, nothing good will come of it. Maybe mediocrity.