Norway’s women's skiing team withdrawal shocks even their own – Aino-Kaisa Saarinen reprimands the bosses

During the World Cup in cross-country skiing, an unusual situation unfolded on Friday when the powerhouse nation Norway could not assemble two teams for the women's team sprint in Davos.

The situation astonished even the locals in Norway. The Norwegian newspaper VG reported that both the team management and the women's national team received harsh criticism.

Birger Löfaldli, a columnist for Adresse, reminded everyone that a competition like the Davos team sprint is a significant opportunity for cross-country skiing. An evening competition in wonderful conditions.

According to Löfaldli, Norway's actions were condemnable, viewing that the national team management effectively treated the World Cup event as a B race.

The expert for Norways Viaplay, former top skier Niklas Dyrhaug, stated that as the leading cross-country ski nation with the largest budget, Norway has a responsibility along with other powerhouse nations like Finland and Sweden. Dyrhaug believes full teams must be presented in the World Cup.

"I know that many smaller countries look up to the Nordic nations, especially Norway. I don't like the message this sends. Especially knowing that many at home in Norway would do anything to compete in the World Cup," Dyrhaug remarked.

Sweden, Finland, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy all had two teams in the women’s team sprint.

Norwegian athletes also faced backlash

The context is that on Saturday, a sprint race will occur in Davos utilizing free skiing techniques. This serves as a significant proving ground for Norwegians ahead of the home World Championships coming in February to March in Trondheim.

At least six sprinting women followed the competition closely in Davos while focusing on Saturday.

The competition manager of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Michal Lamplot, expressed albeit with some understanding, regret in a VG interview about Norway sending only one team to the race.

Meanwhile, the men’s team had two in the team sprint. However, the second team, Simen Hegstad Krüger and Even Northug, failed to qualify for the finals. Krüger understood the athletes’ decision but did not see it affecting his upcoming race on Sunday.

"I think we should compete. This is a showcase and fun. I have wanted more evening competitions and more show. This is good TV time, so athletes should race," Krüger stated.

The Even Northug racing on Saturday also criticized team mates.

"It's important that we don’t send a message that we don't care about this and only think about personal interests. This is about the future. I had no hesitation that I would race in the team sprint," Northug remarked.

Norway’s sole women's team, Astrid Öyre Slind and Kristin Fosnæs, surprised by coming in second behind Sweden's sprint stars Emma Ribom and Jonna Sundling.

Slind and Fosnæs are better known as normal distance skiers and had not competed in the team sprint before. They have no top results in sprint contests. The duo admitted to VG they could not have expected such a strong result.

Finland's women bowed to the podium battle — see the final results.

Norway's women's national team coach, skiing legend Marit Bjørgen, also responded to the strong criticism regarding their single entry in the team sprint.

"This time it went like this. We tried to get two teams. However, Saturday is an important race for many. They might not have wanted to compete today, but we had a fantastic team. They performed well," Bjørgen explained.

Astrid Öyre Slind argued that critics would not have raced on Friday if there was a chance to get into the World Championships on Saturday.

"This is something the organizers need to accept. If they want the best teams at the start line, they should swap the competition days," Slind suggested.

The podium celebrations of Davos’ team sprint. Emma Ribom and Jonna Sundling winning in the center. To the left, Norwegians Astrid Öyre Slind and Kristin Fosnæs took second. For third place to the delight of the home crowd, Swiss Nadine Fähndrich and Anja Weber achieved a surprising result. (Photo: EPA-EFE)

Yle Sports skiing expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen also noted the financial situation behind the decision. The Norwegian Ski Association has also struggled with funding, so not all Norwegians can be flown to Davos on that note.

She understands that team sprinting is a tight squeeze before the sprint. Davos is situated at over 1,500 meters above sea level, hence recovery is more difficult at height. Saarinen reminds that Finland's number one squad, Jasmin Kähärä, went into fatigue on Friday which could eat into their results on Saturday’s World Championship distance race.

"There has been talk throughout the season that expenses have risen. That is a problem. Even Norway is finding it tough financially. The FIS must consider what kind of program is made. They need to think about whether to make these kinds of decisions in the future. There has probably been consideration that sprinters have back-to-back days of racing. The idea of a team sprint and a sprint is beautiful, but it doesn't work out like that," Saarinen sums up the Norwegian controversy.