Cross-country skiing: Emil Iversen back on the podium… and back in colours
He only finished third behind Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo and Harald Oestberg Amundsen. But this skiathlon in Trondheim (Norway) may well go down as the race that relaunched the career of thirty-four-year-oldEmil Iversen. In any case, it enabled him to re-enter the list of contenders for selection for the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. For him, as for many of his rivals, the stakes were high: this was the only skiathlon on the World Cup calendar before the Olympics. The Norwegian coaches kept reminding him that this event would be a crucial test for a group that included Klæbo, Amundsen, Nyenget, Valnes, Krüger and others.
Against this backdrop, it’s easy to understand why the Norwegian was so emotional at the finish: “I’m going to try and calm down, but in reality I don’t really understand what’s going on,” he told NRK. He added: “I’m very proud.
As recently as last week, the 50km world champion (in 2021 after the Klæbo/Bolshunov episode) was still watching the World Cup on television. Not selected for the opening event in Ruka (Finland), he had roundly criticised the Norwegian federation and had to fall back on the NorgesCup in Gålå… where he responded as he knows how: with a victory in the 10km skate and another in the 20km classic.
These successes have opened the door to the stage contested this weekend on his home ground, in accordance with the criteria announced by the staff.
From a sporting point of view, it’s also huge: Emil Iversen had not stood on a World Cup podium since January 2021. The daily Dagbladet summed up the four winters of difficulties, fluctuating form and missed caps in just forty-three minutes of resistance to Klæbo’s infernal pace.
The image that will remain of this skiathlon is that ofEmil Iversen, arms raised, then on his knees in the finish area, overwhelmed by tears, while the Granåsen crowd chanted his name. A few seconds later, Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo himself came to give him a hug.
“Boy, that was huge! I was a bit worried on the last lap, because he was a bit far back and I know how crucial placement is at the end of the race. But he managed to catch up and then, in the sprint, he’s very hard to beat,” commented national team coach Eirik Myhr Nossum on TV2.
In the Norwegian dressing room, the turnaround was just as welcome. “If he’d been at Ruka, he probably wouldn’t have come here. In the end, everything worked out pretty well for him: a great weekend in Gålå, another here, plus a lot of media coverage. He’s enjoying it. It’s become an incredible story for him, a first-rate drama,” exclaimed Erik Valnes, a little fatalistically.
Nothing is certain, of course. But on Saturday in Trondheim, Emil Iversen ticked several boxes.
