Norwegian Ski Star Fears for Her World Championship Dreams: "It Hurts to Say"

Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, a star of Norwegian skiing, will have to postpone the start of her competitive season. The 34-year-old skier, who celebrates her birthday on Saturday, announced that she is not fit enough to compete due to health issues discussed with her doctor.

She noted that she needs to gain more weight, having faced similar challenges in balancing training and nutrition previously—particularly around this time last year.

Östberg has not yet provided the necessary health certificate required by the Norwegian Ski Federation for international competitions confirming her readiness.

Her ultimate goal is to compete at the World Championships scheduled for February-March in Trondheim, but as of now, that aim seems unrealistic.

“It hurts to say it. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, it’s hard to give up the dream,” Östberg stated.

A peer of Krista Pärmäkoski, she is a former Olympic gold medalist in both relay and team sprints, as well as having multiple gold medals from the World Championships in the same events.

In 2019, she won the overall World Cup and secured victories in the Tour de Ski in both 2016 and 2018. With 13 individual event wins, her last podium finish in the World Cup was in February 2023 at the 10-kilometer freestyle race in Toblach.

“I believe that at my best, I am one of the four who could represent Norway and fight for a medal. But now I'm really far from that,” she said.

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