– Bambi on ice at high speed – VG

Sander Ytrim, 20, has grown after graduating by nearly 30 centimeters and was named “Bambi on Ice” last year. Now he can become a world and Olympic champion, according to the coach who arranged the long legs of the 198-centimeter Norwegian skiing phenomenon.

– A big man. Bambi was completely on the ice in the corners at high speed. We woke up Big fans (who gave the wind in his back), overtake and lot on the blue tire inside the racetrack itself to make the turns tighter. We worked really hard on it before the toilet last year, says Robin Groben, 29.

He aims to hold an all-round course – particularly for the 1,500m event – in Vikingskipet in March this year, after the 2022 Olympics the month before.

Sander Itrim secured Norway’s first Olympic spot in the men’s 5000m when he ran a personal record with 6.12.87 on December 10, 2021 in Calgary. However, the Winter Games in Beijing were dropped, in favor of Ambassador Lund Pedersen (30) The club and Buddy Training Hallgeir Engebråten (22) – who thanks by winning the Olympic bronze medal behind Patrick Rost and Nils van der Pol of China.

With his fifth-place finish, Sander Etrem became the second-best Norwegian men’s sprinter at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, behind Peder Kongchug in fourth.

Last weekend, Etrem, who was not in the national team last season, ran a personal record of 6.08.24 – four seconds faster than the “old Persian” – when he finished second at the World Cup in Heerenveen in season two. 5000 meters ahead of Engebråten in third (6.09,44).

– It was raw. Group location and platform. But I still have a lot to catch up on. It took two to three rounds to find the right flow and rhythm, he says.

Back home from Holland Monday, Friday four days later, he and the others on the national ski team were on the plane to Calgary — and a stay of more than four weeks in connection with the double World Cup in the oval being built for the 1988 Olympics.

Patrick Roest was four seconds faster than him at the World Cup in Heerenveen. The Dutchman set a Thialf record with 6.04.36. For comparison, the Swedish world record Niels van der Pol, set in Salt Lake a year earlier, is worth it 6.01.56. Norway’s Sverre Lunde Pedersen’s record is 6.07.16, since he won WC gold in Inzell nearly four years ago – ahead of Roest and ski king Sven Kramer.

– What is his potential?

– Undoubted world champion and Olympic champion. It went really well last year. But what he has shown this year is phenomenal. There are still things he can patch and tweak, to go faster. Ruben Groben Answers When it comes to the Itrim sander, it’s not quite set yet.

Ruben Groppen, a former snowboarder and son of the Lillehammer Olympic “torch player” Stein Groppen (55), became the coach of Sander Ytrim when he was in the second grade at Wang High School in Hamar. Until then, Eskil Ervik (47), briefly world record holder in 2005 (6.12.19) in the 5000m and now headmaster of Wang’s school, had been in charge of training the youngster from Skreia on Toten for about four years.

– He had to fight for it. He often had to lie behind Hallgeir (Engebråten), who set the standards and made a list for Sander, says Eskil Ervik.

He’s very coordinated on the ice “for being so tall,” adds the EC silver medalist and bronze medalist.

– I didn’t feel like there was a problem. I have good control over my body – which, like Engbroughten, plays at Noord Udal IL, says Sander Itrim.

He adds that he was very thin for a while. He has gained weight over time. It falls on the thighs.

– I don’t have an upper body at all, he points out.

Eskil Ervik (183 cm) believes that most skaters are between 185 and 190 cm tall. His former national teammate Øystein Grødum (45) was 193 centimeters when he was unbeatable with his signature (arm!) style over the long distance at the World Cup 17 years ago.

Arne Ytrim (182 cm) says that his son Sander “took off” after confirming his injury and grew by about 30 cm until he was 17-18 years old.

– It was quite literally nonsense. When I entered Wang I was just a young boy. In three years there, from the time I was 15 to 18 years old, Sander Itrim says, I’ve grown a lot, both physically and mentally.

– Mentally – in what way?

– I moved on my own when I was 16 years old. It’s been a steep learning curve, says Sander, a Hamar resident, but I don’t regret it.

Dad Arne believes that physical development is mostly related to his mother, Hege Mølstad, who is 185 cm tall. Reuben Groben, who is 187 cm tall, notes that Sander Itrim (he turns 21 in February) was already taller than he was when he was 17 years old.

– He had a period when he calibrated his body in coordination. It’s equal. He’s done growing up now, says Robin Groben – coach of Norway’s national development team after Sander Ytrim was promoted to the elite squad.

He believes there are many reasons why Sander Itrim has reached as far as he has in a short time, and that he now has “steel control” of everything: up to 28 hours of training per week, video analytics, equipment, food, nutrition, recovery. and sleep.

It’s a very important part of sports. If you are eating improperly then you have no chance to perform any kind of plan. He says in response to questions about diet, “I’ve cut out sweets and soft drinks almost as well.”

Two years ago, he sought nutrition advice from the experts at the Olympiatoppen in Lillehammer, in order to “improve everything possible”.

– He took a lot of “hit” when he was younger because he trained with older athletes, and gained a massive foundation after being so tired, ex-coach Groben believes.

It also cost the parents a lot. Sander Itrim has an external sponsor, Ventilator. Mum Haig and Dad Arnie mostly ensure he can focus on skating. Rent, food, car, electricity, broadband – discounts when in Group B at the World Cup – parent-run ‘Team Eitrem’ pays ‘absolutely everything possible’.

– We’re talking about several thousand. Without them it would not have been possible. They are my support system. They said they were willing to sacrifice everything so I could ski, Sander Itrim confirms.

– We are happy when he is at a national team meeting and brings food there. Engineer Arne Eitrem says he eats half of the Rema store every day.

He has an extra job as a bus driver in the evenings, Hege on hand when the sons are competing. Arnie “can’t watch” his son run a 5,000-meter race.

Sander Itrim has two brothers, a sister and a brother.