It was in Petter Northug's competition Janteloppet that the women's long distance, 40 kilometers, was cancelled. This meant that the chance to participate and share the prize money of half a million kronor disappeared.
If you accept this, you accept that women's sports are not prioritized. It's simply hair-raising. I cannot stand for this as a female athlete, says Astrid Øyre Slind to Norwegian TV2.
The organizer made the decision to cancel the women's distance when only 14 skiers had signed up, including Slind, Heidi Weng, and the Swedish star Ebba Andersson, and had promised prize money to the top 20.
Instead, the women were offered to participate in the 20-kilometer race – a distance where there were originally no prize money, but where the organizer offered 60,000 kronor (30,000 to the winner).
This is not even close to what they promised. It should not be possible in 2025 to be met with this. I will not participate when we are being pissed on, says Slind.
