She is referring to the former Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Maren Lundby's outburst last week. In a chronicle on NRK's website, the 30-year-old Norwegian, now an expert commentator for the TV channel, wrote that half of the World Championship's starting field should actually be disqualified.
Lundby's point is that many athletes "circumvent" the sport's weight rules, where the requirement is a body mass index of at least 21 (body weight divided by height squared). If you have less than that, you have to compete with shorter skis (and therefore fly shorter).
Frida Westman doesn't like Lundby's timing or that she in some way points out specific jumpers.
I think it gets a bit personal. I think it gets a bit weird that she goes so hard against some. It's a bit unfair, says Westman.
National Team Jumpers Speak Out
It's far from the first time weight has been debated within ski jumping. Over 20 years ago, the aforementioned weight rules were introduced, but since then, voices have been raised to update the regulations.
Just Maren Lundby opened up a few years ago about the psychological burden that weight pressure has entailed, and which led to her, as the reigning champion, skipping the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022.
Norwegian national team jumper Silje Opseth told last week in an interview with NRK how the constant thoughts about how much you weigh have made her wonder if it's worth continuing. She also lifted stories about how foreign coaches have threatened to drop jumpers who weigh too much.
Then it doesn't take much to develop eating disorders, said Opseth.
Frida Westman wants to nuance the discussion.
It's many times that people have very poor knowledge about this weight loss thing, that you do it the wrong way so it becomes harmful in the long run. But if you have good people around you and do it the right way, it's not the same thing.
Wrote Olympic History 2022
Three years ago, she became the first Swedish woman to participate in an Olympic ski jumping event, and in November 2022, she took her first podium place in the World Cup. A severe knee injury in the summer of 2023 put her career on hold, and only now, in Thursday's World Championship competition in the normal hill, is she making a comeback.
The new weight debate comes at an inopportune time.
I understand 100 percent that it's harder for some and easier for others. But I still think it's a bit like you're putting a knife in the back of those who actually put in an incredible amount of time on this. I mean, I've fought so much to be in the position I'm in, says Westman.
+ Introduced to prevent athletes from losing too much weight to gain a competitive advantage. This was due to a widespread problem with athletes drastically losing weight to perform better.
+ BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is calculated by taking body weight (in kilos) divided by height squared.
+ Which BMI you have determines how long skis you can compete with.
+ Athletes must have a BMI of at least 21 to use skis with maximum length. If you have less than 21, you have to take shorter skis.
Sweden is fielding two participants in ski jumping, both on the women's side: Frida Westman and Jenny Forsberg.
The program:
Thursday, February 27: normal hill, qualifying (20.30).
Friday, February 28: normal hill, final (14.00).
Thursday, March 6: large hill, qualifying (20.30).
Friday, March 7: large hill, final (16.15).
