Sjur Ole Svarstad (40) takes charge as head coach of the women’s national cross country team. He is prepared to set high expectations despite Thérèse Juhaug’s capitulation.
For the new national team coach, who was part of the national team coaching staff during the peak period between 2016 and 2018, knows full well that next winter awaits the World Cup in Blanica without the major wholesaler in Norway in recent years.
Statistics will always be there. Norway has earned an amazing medal in the Olympics and the World Cup over the past 15 years. But as a coach, myself and the support staff around me should focus on individual development, even if it doesn’t have an impact on the medal stats, says Svarstadt and continues:
– I don’t think we will be excluded from the statistics. But we must give them the security and time to develop them.
“Silence can be counted on weekend after weekend”
Adresseavisen Commentator, Berger Lovedley, Thursday writes The job Svarstad held was more difficult than being coach of Rosenborg.
He believes that people in Norway expect gold for the winter, although there are many logical explanations for the fact that cross-country skiing for Norwegian ladies has been delayed. And although Johaug, Maiken Kaspersen Valla, Marit Björgen and Astrid Orenholdt Jacobsen have given up in recent years.
“Svarstad will have to stand there and explain. He can count first of all on silence, weekend after weekend. This will put pressure on both the management and the athletes,” writes Lovaldley.
The completion of the large formations in the national team
Svarstad believes he will now return as the national team coach at a time he considers exciting.
But things have happened since the good times four years ago.
Poor performance and results. Only Thérèse Gouhaug had the highest results during the Beijing Olympics, while Juhaug and Heidi Wing were the only ones in the top ten at the World Cup combined.
Prior to this season, several profiles were published, while Ingvild Flugstad Østberg was rejected from the national team.
We have a boost to give, Svarstad tells VG at first, when asked how cross-country skiing for Norwegian women should take what should be described as a wave of evolution in terms of development and results.
Aimed at 2025
Svarstad acknowledges that the team must work well together to take individual athletes to a higher level, although he believes many of them have also evolved in recent seasons.
The World Cup will be held in Blanica next winter. But there will be a more important World Cup on home soil in Trondheim in 2025 and an Olympics in Italy the following year. Now we have to be patient now and give the girls time to develop, says Svarstad.
He has good experience
Anne Kjersti Kalvå is very positive about the new date. The national team runner explains why:
Participate in a lot of what was good in the Norwegian women’s cross-country skiing. He also did well when he was a recruit coach. He earned a lot in the elite teams. He has worked with both Egil Kristiansen and Roar Hjelmeset all along. He has also worked with Marit (Bjoergen) and Therese (Juhaug). She says he has good experience, good energy and a good man.
Ragnhild Hagga describes employment as a “good choice”.
– I was very happy when I received the news. I’ve trained it before and know what it is and what it can do. Haga tells VG that it’s safe to choose someone with prior experience, someone with great courage, a good sense of humor and a passion for the job.
Åge Skinstad appointed Svarstad as coach of the national team recruiting when he was sporting director of the Ski Federation and awarded the new national team coach a good certificate.
“Now I haven’t seen the list of applicants, but it must have been very strong if it wasn’t high on my list of priorities,” says Skjenstad.
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