In short, something as radical as introducing Konnerud as the centerpiece of a women’s sprint effort under the auspices of the Norwegian Ski Association. Under the leadership of a man named Lage Sofienlund, who is responsible for Skistad’s success in recent years.

This was not my original idea.

It was a wise cross country leader who expressed those thoughts when we recently discussed Norway’s female cross country sprinters and perhaps the best in the world.

For those who have followed cross-country skiing in recent years, the return of Kristine Stavås Skistad to the national team system, as of now, is a solution that no one can afford to risk ahead of the all-important World Cup season.

Which in practice starts right now.

The best sprinter in the world

Kristine Stavås Skistad is in a unique position in Norway.

He is our only sprinter who is at or near the top of the world. And he ended up there because of her No is part of the national team. It doesn’t have to be like this. But this is a real reality.

Now he ends his second season in a row as the best in the world.

Next year is the WC and the year after that is the Olympics. So both he and other Norwegians definitely want this to continue.

At the same time, the signs of the times are clear – everyone involved wants to create the greatest possible level of unity in Ski-Norway ahead of the world championships on home soil.

Including the possibility that a special agreement will be reached that guarantees the participation of Therese Johaug and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo in the national team.

The body is for me, not necessarily for you

Of the biggest stars, only Kristine Stavå’s Skistad is missing. But in his case, the road was longer and the doubts were much greater.

The reason is, criticism of the priorities of the national team management could not be called anything other than merciless in an interview with NRK last week:

“Unfortunately, in my case, I am built very differently. I have a different body type than at least long distance runners. And then you have to do things differently, and then you don’t fit into a system, and that’s my main challenge.”

The criticism is based on expensive empirical evidence:
Skistad’s two seasons were actually within the framework of the association, our most promising sprinter at that time did not perform at all, being almost trained in a state of depression.
Frustrated, Skistad moved back to Konnerud and eventually found his way back to himself.

So it gets to that level.

As the world’s best sprinter.

With a body that is allowed to be itself.

And the main challenge is the national team, not Skistad itself.

The cards are definitely not good

The management of the women’s national team seems to have almost no interest in female sprinters or absolutely no idea how to develop them. There are no particularly good parts.

Because as time goes by, only the unique Marit Bjørgen has mastered the sprint and distance at the highest level among our female runners.

All the focus now seems to be on developing distance runners.

The results tell a very clear story. Of the ten runners on the women’s national team, currently only two can be called traditional sprinters. But neither Julie Myhre nor Ane Appelkvist Stenseth went further than the World Cup semifinals this season.

Those who were previously the team’s best sprinters, such as twins Udnes Weng and Mathilde Myhrvold, have previously finished on the podium in World Cup sprints. This winter they each reached one final. All three finished last in one final they competed in.

Therefore, the focus is clearly on increasing capacity. Some with good results. Last year, Tiril Udnes Weng made great progress in distance and won the World Cup overall.

This year, construction was halted for various reasons.

The twins Lotta and Myhrvold, on the other hand, got worse in the sprint, but at the same time made little progress in the distance.

Everyone saw that the total ended up in the red zone.

The only current Norwegian women’s sprint is Kristine Stavå’s Skistad.

And that should scare the national team management.

To the point that they may be forced to do something scary like rethink.

Therefore, the national team management actually has two choices.

Possible way forward

One option is to continue with current arrangements, and try to find possible, but unlikely, common ground with performance environments elsewhere in the country.

In reality, this means remaining hopeful that Skistad’s results in Trondheim can disguise the fact that the Norwegian Ski Association is simply not prioritizing training in cross-country skiing which many believe will be the most rewarding sport of the future.

Sprint never got any real recognition in this country. We only assert ourselves.

Norway has always been and is a distant country.

And the current regime does not hide its priorities.

While Arild Monsen has long exercised his authority and created success through his purely male sprinters, the female sprinters do not even have their own national sprint team.

It delivers results. But not the type that awards medals at championships.

To move mountains

Another option is a more ambitious variant, namely letting the mountain fall on Muhammad.

In practice, this means looking for neighborhoods that have been successful and basing the investment on the next two championship seasons where they are, namely at Konnerud.

For those unfamiliar with the town on the edge of Drammen, the area’s skald himself, Jonas Fjeld, describes it this way in his song of the same name:

“If you go the wrong way, you’ll come/ Down a long, dark road/ Then you’ll end up in Konnerud/ Then you’ll end up at my place/ There are lots of construction sites/ And some old houses among them”

What Fjeld doesn’t mention is the stadium and sports teams with a ski environment that functions well under sports director Lage Sofienlund, who is also Skistad’s coach.

The ski group’s vision in Konnerud is described on the website as “an inclusive community with a focus on mitigation and development”.

Now may be the time they put more hope into winning the World Cup.

If the Ski Association dares and will allocate resources to form a national sprint team with two or three runners in addition to Konnerud-based Skistad.

And if the current national team management has enough prowess to realize the limitations of their own system and believe that there are other alternatives. Which also shows that they are successful.

Greatness – or fear of one’s own position.

When Lage Sofienlund himself was asked by NRK about his most important recipe for success, he simply answered “love”.
Seeing people is the most important thing.

Perhaps this is also the path to success for more female Norwegian sprinters.

Faith, hope and love, that’s all. And of course Konnerud.