Norway has dominated women’s skiing in recent years, but behind the brightest front, the situation does not look good.
Norway has dominated cross-country skiing for several years, and the women’s side is used to the dominance of individual Norwegian skiers. Now in the fjord region, it is feared that dark times are ahead.
– Norway’s top sports have been miserable on the women’s side, Öyvind Sanbakk stated In an interview with NRK (you will switch to another service).
Since last spring, Sandbakk has been leading a committee on behalf of the Norwegian Skiing Association, which has investigated women’s skiing in Norway and, above all, where it has failed.
The weak state of Norwegian women’s skiing has been warned for several years, even from within the team, as the young star skiers are exhausted from the top ropes.
– It’s not about a crisis, but when Maiken (Caspersen Falla) and Therese (Johaug) have finished, it should not be surprising that the coming year will be challenging in terms of results, Sandbakk said.
Skiers of the so-called golden generation of Norwegian women’s skiing, who won medals at the World Junior Championships Heidi Weng and Ragnhild Haga are now 31 years old. Although Norway has achieved many youth World Cup medals after them, the success has not been reflected in the adults. Instead, Sweden, for example, has managed to bring several skiers under 30 to the international top.
Former manager of the Norwegian national team Vidar Löfshus already raised the problem a couple of years ago (you switch to another service). Löfshus worked in the national team for 13 years, and in his opinion, among other things, the reporting system has been bad, too little money has been invested in young talents, patience with young people has been weak and there have been no proper requirements for young people.
– I think Norway has done a bad job with the second best girls, Löfshus said to NRK.
Anne Kjersti Kalvå signs Löfshus’s comment, as he himself has belonged to this group.
– I have done a lot of work on my own, and not all the expertise and help that can be found in Norway has been available to us second best, Kalvå said for NRK (you switch to another service).
According to Sandbakk, Norwegian women’s skiing can be developed, among other things, by intensifying the cooperation and sharing of information between the national team and regional coaching, by drawing up a comprehensive and long-term plan for preventive health work at different stages of development, and by hiring a sports manager to be responsible for matters.
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