Vu de Norge’s schedule
Tarjei Bø thinks about the biathlon aftermath
Tarjei Bø’s life has changed: he’s a father, he’s newly married and he’s also moved house. But one thing hasn’t changed: he’s still a top-level biathlete. But he knows that retirement is just around the corner. And there’s no question of not preparing for it.
So the Norwegian has set up his own business with his older brother Rasmus. “It’s a good way of anticipating my next life,” Tarjei Bø tells TV2. Because the biathlete doesn’t want to go on forever. “Now that Aron is talking, he often asks me if I can stay with them, and I miss him more and more when I’m away, he says. I think that until you have children, you don’t really understand that it’s a turning point in a sports career, that it’s often the beginning of the end.”
At the same time, he says that becoming a father has enabled him to improve as a biathlete. “I train less but better , and I think that showed last season,” smiles Tarjei Bø.
Alongside his family life and training for the coming winter, the Norwegian has also set up a windows business with his brother. “He’s the only one in the family who’s not a biathlete, but he’s also the smartest, laughs the athlete. I have to admit that in our business, at the moment, I’m mainly the headliner, I’m not the one who does most of the work.”
A family venture to follow on from many seasons on the top level circuit, also as a family. “It’s so nice to have Johannes with me all season, we’re the only two fathers in the family, we understand each other on that and to have your brother with you is wonderful, it’s a real luxury”, concludes Tarjei Bø.
Therese Johaug: “I would have regretted not stopping in time”
Two years ago, Therese Johaug decided to put an end to her career to start a family. It’s a decision she has no regrets about, even if it could put her in a less favourable frame of mind ahead of the Trondheim 2025 World Championships.
“My decision to stop was a very painful one, reveals Johaug in an interview with Dagbladet. I had absolutely no desire to give up cross-country skiing or racing. But I had this desire to be a mother and I would never have forgiven myself for waiting until I was 38 or 39 to retire, try to start a family and fail. I would have regretted not stopping in time.”
In fact, the Norwegian would even have liked to stop beforehand to take the time to become a mother. “But I was too keen to win an Olympic title, she admits. After that, you have to remember that we women only have a certain window of opportunity to have children, so we don’t have much choice.”
Dagbladet also draws a comparison with the Russians. On average, Norwegian athletes who have become mothers have done so much later than Russian cross-country skiers, the latest of whom is none other than Veronika Stepanova, who announced her pregnancy in August, aged just 23.
“It’s a question of culture, I think, and maybe they also get more help from their families to deal with the baby afterwards, says Therese Johaug. My parents love Kristin, but I don’t think they’d be happy if I dropped her off for weeks on end to go training.”
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on the comeback trail?
She may not be in the national team, but Ingvild Flugstad Østberg has not yet said her last word.
After several seasons in which the cross-country skier struggled to obtain her medical certificate to compete, she is due to take the test again very soon. “She has to go before November 1, like all the other athletes, reveals women’s coach Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass, Østberg’s former personal coach. But I know she’s been training really well, so I can’t wait to see whether she gets the certificate or not.”
“Everyone hopes that Ingvild will get this certificate, Petter Northug Jr. told TV2. I hope she’s getting good advice so that her training at high altitude, which I’m sure is intensive, doesn’t cost her her season again, and that she’ll be able to compete. This is perhaps her greatest challenge if she wants to go to the Worlds in Trondheim.”
Since 2019, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg has had great difficulty in passing the tests to obtain this health certificate. “She then has to perform in Beitostølen, which must be very stressful for her, continues Northug. But at the same time, Therese Johaug’s comeback is attracting a lot of attention, so it could at least take the pressure off her. “
Østberg, for her part, did not wish to talk to the media, preferring to concentrate on her preparations, with winter fast approaching.
Simen Hegstad Krüger: “Skistad should come to the national team more”
Kristine Stavås Skistad has agreed to join the national team this season. However, she has asked not to be obliged to train with the group, so that she can stay with her usual coach and on her usual pitch, which worked out very well for her last winter. She also asked to be exempted from as many interviews, media days and sponsors as possible, and so has not seen her team-mates since April.
But this choice of independence is causing a stir, not least in the men’s team. “Some people in our team also want to make different choices, but they still see the value of acting as a team, of sometimes training together,” Simen Hegstad Krüger told the daily VG. ”I think it would be a good idea for everyone to work together more,” adds Erik Valnes.
While the two cross-country skiers understand very well that Skistad wants to train differently from the group, as she is only aiming for sprints, they still insist on the added value of training with the full team. “It wouldn’t make any sense for her to train like Therese Johaug, that’s for sure, but in a group you always learn from each other and that’s very important, that’s how everyone progresses and how a team becomes excellent”, explains Krüger.
Media training for cross-country skiers
Media coverage of the Norwegian cross-country ski teams has not been particularly good in recent years. Conflicts have erupted, athletes have taken to the streets and sponsors have jumped ship. The Ski Association therefore decided tohire an external media consultant ahead of last week’s press conference for the men’s team.
“We were asked if we had any ideas or things to say, so I spoke up and was told that was exactly the wrong thing to do,” Pål Golberg tells NRK.
A few days earlier, Anne Kjersti Kalvå and Heidi Weng had told the media that they were fed up with the often negative nature of the questions they were asked. “You end up with boring athletes and boring answers if you keep asking boring questions,” Kalvå said.
“It’s a good thing that a professional came to advise us so that we could give a less negative image to the media, says Golberg. It’s important to think beforehand about the consequences of what you’re going to say. On the other hand, we need to be able to continue to be honest and say what we think, and I think Anne Kjersti was right.”
For Simen Hegstad Krüger too, this training was important. “It’s important that before each media session we agree on the image we want to convey, without being less honest with the media,” he concludes.
The winter Advent calendar
Do you love Christmas? Do you love waiting for Christmas? So you love Advent calendars! Well, we’ve found the perfect one for you: Petter Northug Jr. has launched his own calendar with his Northug brand. On the programme: 24 pairs of socks! You’ll still need to spend around 170 euros to get it – Petter Northug dancing not included.
