Vu de Trondheim #2
Cross-country skiing: Erik Valnes hopes to return this weekend
With a back injury, Erik Valnes had to withdraw the day before the sprint in which he was hoping to win a medal. Replaced at short notice by Ansgar Evensen, the sprinter was keen to send a message to his compatriot on the NRK radio: “Don’t think about me, get ready, do your skiing, don’t worry about me”, he told him. Valnes preferred to break the news to his team-mate himself, who admitted that he was very worried about him and did not want to take his place because of injury.
For his part, Erik Valnes hopes to be back on his feet by the weekend so that he can take part in the 10km race. We really think he’ll be able to compete,” the doctors told NRK confidently. He’s pulled a muscle, but it should heal in a few days.
The Norwegian can therefore still hope to compete for a medal in the 10km, but also in the team sprint and the men’s relay. ” But it’s a very tough situation for him, especially at a home World Championships where you’re a medal contender,” says NRK expert Fredrik Aukland.
Ski jumping: another injury for the Norwegians
After Thea Minyan Bjoerseth and Halvor Egner Granerud, the Norwegian ski jumping team has lost another member of its squad, as revealed by NRK. Benjamin Østvold injured his back during training on Wednesday. He landed badly on a jump and had to undergo an MRI to find out the extent of his injury.
On an Instagram post, the jumper said he was hoping for good news after the MRI. “Fingers crossed”, he commented.
Nordic Combined: Norway with 4 places instead of 5
Quotas are precise at the Nordic World Ski Championships: each nation can enter 4 athletes and a 5th place can be reserved for the defending champion. Norway therefore thought it would be able to field 5 athletes in the small jump competition on Saturday in the Nordic combined.
However, the “individual compact” format is new to the World Championships, so yesterday morning the FIS warned Norway that JarlMagnus Riiber, champion on the small hill two years ago, would not have an extra place. There has been a misunderstanding,” Bruno Sassis, head of communications at the FIS, told NRK. There is no defending champion, but Riiber will be considered as such.
An opinion not really shared by Lasse Ottesen, FIS Nordic combined race director. ” We have studied the new rules and I maintain that Riiber is not the outgoing champion , but there are similarities between the two formats,” says Ottesen.
But the question remains: will there be 4 or 5 Norwegians in the individual compact? And if so, will this have an impact on other disciplines, such as cross-country skiing, where the women’s 30km has become a 50km event? ” It’s extremely clumsy on the part of the FIS, and it ‘s unacceptable to announce this kind of change two days before the competition,” says NRK expert Jan Petter Saltvedt .
“We asked the question last year and we were told we’d have 5 places, but suddenly we have to eliminate someone,” laments Jarl Magnus Riiber. “It’s a shame,” concludes Magnus Moan, former Nordic combined and now NRK expert.
Plastic jackets for volunteers
The Trondheim World Championships aim to be inclusive (with races for para-athletes and equal prizes for men and women) and environmentally friendly. The snag? The volunteers’ jackets. They are made in China from recycled plastic, which has caused quite a stir in Norway.
“These are non-renewablefossil materials, these jackets are made from petroleum derivatives, which goes against what the organisers are advocating in terms of reducing their carbon footprint and their use of plastic”, a fashion teacher told NRK.
“It’s a pity and very contradictory with their approach, they could have found a recycled material for the volunteers’ clothes”, commented one of them. Clothing is one of the only benefits for unpaid Worlds volunteers. Around 10,000 outfits have been distributed, including the famous polyester jackets. ” We chose this material because the volunteers need warm clothing and our polyester is 100% recycled,” the organisers say.
Finally, critics point to the fact that many people will throw away or put away their outfits afterwards, and that there could perhaps be an alternative to giving a complete outfit to each volunteer. ” It creates a sense of community and we are also very visible to spectators, which is still the main aim,” concludes the Trondheim 2025 organisation.
In a nutshell
- Gyda Westvold Hansen, Ida Marie Hagen, Jarl Magnus Riiber and Jens Lurås Oftebro will represent Norway in the Nordic combined mixed relay.
- The King may be ill, but the Norwegian royal family is still represented in Trondheim. Crown Prince Håkon took part in the opening ceremony on Wednesday evening and was present at yesterday’s races, watching the sprint and attending the medal ceremony.
- A new feature of the evening medal ceremonies is that NRK has installed a golden microphone in the middle of the stage , where each gold medallist will speak after receiving his or her medal. Part of the speech will have to be in English, as it will be broadcast internationally. ” It’s a bit stressful, I don’t speak English very well”, said Kristine Stavås Skistad, who was finally exempted from the exercise.
- “This is the coolest day of my life and I’d like to thank all the spectators who came to support us in Trondheim,” said Johannes Høsflot Klæbo after receiving his gold medal.
- Fancy listening to the World Cup anthem? Here’s the song “For What We Love”, sung by Gunnhild Sundli:
