Expert irritated by Norwegian Olympic team selection

Published:

Expert irritated by Norwegian Olympic team selection
Photo: Terje Pedersen/NTB/TT

Karoline Simpson-Larsen and Mattis Stenshagen have each secured a place at the Olympics in Italy. The fact that two other Norwegian cross-country skiers have not yet received the go-ahead has prompted reactions. "But, unfortunately, I am not surprised," says Petter Skinstad, an expert on TV 2 in Norway.

Norwegians won both the women's and men's races in Sunday's final stage of the Tour de Ski, the climb up Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme.

And both Karoline Simpson-Larsen and Mattis Stenshagen will soon be able to return to the Italian resort.

On the thirtieth day, the duo was selected for the Olympics in February, where the cross-country skiing will be decided in Val di Fiemme.

However, TV2 expert Petter Skinstad is critical of the fact that two other skaters – Julie Bjervig Drivenes and Emil Iversen – have not yet received their Olympic spots.

"It is quite obvious that Emil Iversen and Julie Bjervig Drivenes have delivered results that mean they should have been selected for the Olympics," said Skinstad.

"This applies particularly to Drivenes. The women's team has underperformed so far and she has delivered superb results ever since the opening weekend in Beitostølen (the Norwegian season opener).

Emil Iversen has been on the podium three times in this year's World Cup and finished in the top five in five of his nine races. He recently criticized the delay in the Olympic selection.

"We have done a lot of races already, and there are a lot of results to look at. We don't need to draw lots. I think the national team management has enough to be able to select eight male skiers," Iversen said.

The Norwegian squad now has two men's and four women's spots left to fill. The next selection will be announced after the Norwegian Championships in mid-January.

Loading related articles...

Tags

Author

TT News AgencyT
By TT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers

More news

Loading related posts...