Tag: Vidar Løfshus

Norwegian Ski Team Recommended Nebulizer Use by Healthy Athletes, Say Anonymous Skiers

Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby during the men’s 15 k skate leg of the Ski Tour Canada in Canmore, Alberta. Sundby may not be the only Norwegian athlete who used a nebulizer to take asthma medication — even healthy athletes were allegedly recommended to do so. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

As Norwegian skier Martin Johnsrud Sundby has decided to appeal his doping ban to the Swiss Supreme Court, stories have emerged suggesting that the Norwegian Ski Federation recommended that healthy skiers use salbutamol nebulizers – the same drug and method Sundby was issued a two-month ban for – as preventative therapy to maximize performance.

That suggests that a number of Norwegian athletes might have engaged in the same behavior which got Sundby in trouble in the first place. No other doping cases are known to exist from the Norwegian team. However, the International Ski Federation (FIS) rules mean that if an athlete had been caught with high levels of salbutamol like Sundby, it may have been kept quiet.

After Sundby’s ban, men’s national team coach Tor Arne Hetland told FasterSkier that “we will not do the same mistake again.”

But what of the past? Norway’s TV2 talked with several cross-country skiers who say they were told by the national team to use nebulizers, even though they did not have asthma. A nebulizer delivers beta-2 agonists, drugs which help relax muscles in the airways. Such medications are banned for use by athletes up until a threshold dose.

TV2 would not reveal the identity of the athletes, but reported that one said they were “mildly surprised” to be offered the drugs even though they were not having difficulty breathing.

In the same piece, national team director Vidar Løfshus said that this constituted “preventative care” to make sure that no athletes had airway obstructions.

Evidence suggests that salbutamol cannot help breathing for athletes who are not having an airway constriction, such as that caused by asthma. But beta-2 agonists, as a class of drugs, can also be used as masking agents for other drugs, and can have androgenic effects (like steroids) when used in high doses.

The Norwegian Ski Federation announced on its website that it would be conducting a full review of medication use policies in the wake of the scandal.

Erik Røste, the president of the federation, said that he expected that healthy athletes would not have been prescribed medication, but sought to clarify whether his assumption was true. The investigation will be carried out by people not affiliated with the federation in order to maintain independence. Anti-Doping Norway has been consulted about assisting.

Røste also said that he was concerned that the stories could damage the reputation of the federation.

That seems to be already happening. Swedish national team doctor Per Andersson told Swedish media that prescribing medication to healthy athletes was a “dangerous path”.

Meanwhile, Sundby had been sanctioned for using high concentrations of salbutamol via a nebulizer. FIS had initially not suspended him, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which banned him from competition for two months. Because some results were invalidated, Sundby lost his 2015 overall World Cup title as well as the overall Tour de Ski win.

CAS is the highest governing body in sports, and decisions cannot be appealed or overturned. However, Sundby decided to appeal the case to a non-sports body, the Swiss Supreme Court, because he felt that the judgement was unfair. He told Norwegian media that he was “not guilty.”

Based on WADA rules, the maximum amount of salbutamol that is allowed to be inhaled is 1600 micrograms over 24 hours. Sundby’s samples taken Dec. 13, 2014 after the 15-kilometer classic in Davos, Switzerland, and Jan. 8, 2015 after the 25 k freestyle pursuit at the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy, and analyzed by a WADA accredited laboratory exceeded those limits.

His case hinges on a few words, as Sundby and the Norwegian medical team believe that the WADA limit applies only to medication taken in an inhaler, while Sundby used a different device, a nebulizer.

As an athlete with a documented history of asthma, Sundby likely could have received a therapeutic use exemption (TUE), which may have allowed the nebulizer use. But he did not apply for one, and such exemptions cannot be obtained retroactively.

August 26, 2016
Kristiansen Out, Norwegian Coaching Shuffle Continues

Egil Kristiansen (l) announced his resignation as Norwegian cross-country women’s team coach earlier this week. Kristiansen has led the women’s team for the last 10 years. (Photo: Skilandslaget/Facebook)

Proud moments are not always performance based. After leading the Norwegian women’s cross-country team to 47 World Championship and Olympic medals — for a total of 23 gold — over the past 10 years, it was not the results that have meant the most to Egil Kristiansen, the Norwegian national team women’s coach who announced his resignation Sunday via a team press release. It was the pressure he, his athletes, and Norway put on others to push themselves in the sport.

“It’s actually what we have managed to achieve,” Kristiansen told NRK, according to a translation, of his proudest coaching moment during the last decade with the team. “Managing to keep the pressure up, regardless of whether the results are bad or good; to do the damn job one hundred percent anyway. Not being dragged down by a poor outcome, or about to take off for good results. To paint on paint anyway.”

Kristiansen, 50, began heading up the women’s team in 2006, after working as an assistant coach under Svein Tore Samdal. The next 10 years are history.

In 2009, Kristiansen coached the now-retired Kristin Størmer Steira to silver in the women’s 15-kilometer pursuit at World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic.

In 2010, he helped Norwegian Marit Bjørgen to her first Olympic gold at the Vancouver Olympics in the women’s classic sprint. She went on to achieve four more medals at those Olympics after that, including two more gold. Prior to Vancouver, Kristiansen worked with Bjørgen for 10 years and would work with her for five more.

“Egil has meant a lot to me,”Bjørgen told VG.no during a press conference, according to a translation. “There has been a security for me to have him there … He’s been a crazy good leader, a manager type that has gathered the group.”

Beyond Bjørgen and Størmer Steira, Kristiansen has worked with numerous other Norwegian superstars, including Olympics or World Championships medalists Therese Johaug, Maiken Caspersen Falla, Heidi Weng, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Vibeke Skofterud, and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen.

Norway’s “Coach of the Year” in 2011, Kristiansen said he’s ready to move forward and feels the the Norwegian women’s team should as well.

“I feel privileged to have worked with the world’s best cross-country skiers,” Kristiansen told Aftenposten, according to a translation. “But I’ve determined that it’s time to move on. As a coach, it is difficult to always give one’s best to the same group athletes over many years. Therefore, I believe this is the right time to resign, and it will help the athletes receive new inspiration.”

Norwegian women’s sprint coach Roar Hjelmeset calls out to Therese Johaug as she races to bronze in the 10 k classic at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

There is no official word as to who will look to replace Kristiansen’s shoes. Women’s sprint coach Roar Hjelmeset has said he’s interested in filling in, but only for a year.

“I‘ve said I want to be national coach a one year period for women. The problem is that they were looking for someone who can train [through the] Olympics in 2018,” Hjelmeset, who first coached national-team juniors in 2008 then the women’s sprint team since 2011, told NRK.

National team director Vidar Løfshus indicated that Kristiansen’s successor must be willing to make a commitment through the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“I was prepared that [his decision] could go either way, hoping of course that he would continue,” Løfshus said to Langrenn, according to a translation. “To sum up his time as coach of the national team will be the one long tribute.”

Hetland Takes Over Norway’s Men’s National Team

Kristiansen’s resignation is not the only change in the nexus of Norwegian nordic skiing. Tor-Arne Hetland was hired this spring as the new men’s cross-country coach.

Tor-Arne Hetland was a Swiss sprint coach from 2010-2014, then coached the Canadian World Cup Team for a season (2014/2015) before taking an assistant coaching position with his alma mater, the Norwegian national team. He is now the Norwegian men’s head coach. (Photo: FIS)

A 2002 Olympic gold-medalist sprinter, Hetland, who competed for Norway, previously worked as a national coach for Germany, Switzerland and Canada before assisting the Norwegian team last season under former men’s coach Trond Nystad.

“Trond has been generous and given me great responsibility allround team this season,” Hetland told Skiforbundet, according to a translation. “I want to continue a culture where athletes together take responsibility for their own training and development. Created to be the best trained and set a standard that new generations of skiers want to strive for. I look forward to continue working with the team and with the rest of the support develop each athlete so that they can bring out their maximum potential.”

The outgoing coach for the Norwegian men’s cross-country team Trond Nystad fields questions at the 2014 Sochi Olympics

Nystad, 45, had been the head coach for the men since 2011, working with his twin brother Knut Nystad, Norway’s head wax technician. Trond had previously coached the U.S. and Swiss teams.

Nystad’s contract with the team ends May 31. Earlier this month, he dispelled rumors that he would advise Russia’s Alexander Legkov this winter. Rather, after spending what he estimated to be nearly 250 days on the road in the last five years, Nystad wanted to focus on being a dad.

“Nothing is certain, nothing is excluded, but in relation to their family situation is probably not wise to continue with 240-250 days of travel,” he told NRK. “But I still want to work with sport.”

April 27, 2016
‘Haters Gonna Hate,’ Northug Remains Separate from Norwegian National Team

Norway’s Petter Northug (center) won the 15 k classic pursuit at the 2014/2015 Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, Germany, ahead of Canadian runner-up Alex Harvey (l) and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (r) in third. Northug won’t have a chance to go for the overall Tour de Ski or World Cup title this coming season as he is currently off the Norwegian national team. (Photo: Marcel Hilger)

The show must, and will, go on. That’s how the Norwegian ski federation feels about the debacle with Petter Northug, Jr., after the 29-year-old celebrity skier missed the deadline to sign its contract. For now, the federation’s offer to let Northug maintain his sponsorship obligations with the Coop grocery store chain up until the start of the 2015/2016 season in late November is off the table — and Northug won’t be able to compete for Norway on the World Cup circuit.

The two sides clashed on the terms of the agreement. VG reported that Northug had asked for a three-year contract instead of the single year the federation offered. He also wanted to represent the national team for a shorter period than last season, which lasted from Nov. 1, 2014 to April 7, 2015.

Northug talking to NRK. (Photo: Tor Atle Kleven)

According to Dagbladet, Northug also requested “breaks” in the World Cup period where he’d be able to race in the Coop uniform, presumably in the International Ski Federation (FIS) marathon series.

In May 2013, Northug left the national team to start a private team, sponsored by Coop. He subsequently signed an agreement with the Norwegian ski federation that enabled him to compete in the 2013/2014 World Cup. The agreement was renewed last year. Northug’s deal is an exception to the federation’s policy that Norwegian skiers have to be on a year-round commitment in order to represent Norway in international races.

Initially, the federation hadn’t planned to offer Northug a special agreement again this year. But it reneged on its stance, and in June, it tendered an offer similar to the 2014/2015 agreement.

“The agreement is the same as the one he had in success season 2014/15,” said Torbjørn Skogstad, chairman of the federation’s cross-country committee, according to a translation. “[The federation] regrets that Petter Northug did not want to join the national team and the World Cup on the same terms as all other athletes.”

“The Norwegian Ski Federation is planning upcoming World Cup season with those athletes who have signed an agreement and is not going to take any further initiatives from Petter Northug or Coop,” he continued.

Northug’s tenure on the national team has been marked by controversy. As a junior, he didn’t mince words about being left off Norway’s 2006 Olympic squad. Since splitting from the national team, his results have been mixed. His four gold medals at the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden, were preceded by a lackluster 2013/2014 season with no Olympic medals and seventh-place overall finish on the World Cup.

Reactions in the ski community have been mixed.

“Once the deadline has expired, then it’s time to cut through,” Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, a 2007 individual world champion for Norway, told VG. “[The federation has to] set an example here. Northug believes he is in a special position.”

“Did anyone really talk to Petter? I think this could have been solved,” Hjelmeset added.

One of Northug’s current rivals, Calle Halfvarsson of Sweden believes Norwegian skiing will suffer the most. He said “it would be really stupid of [the Norwegian federation]” to exclude Northug.

Jürg Capol, the nordic director for FIS Marketing AG, told VG that the sport benefits if all the best athletes toe the start line.

“In the World Cup, we are not dependent on one skier,” he said. “Northug has never won the Tour de Ski, so the best should be in place when the Tour de Ski starts. Who remembers who won the Vasaloppet and Marcialonga? It is the World Cup that matters.”

Last season, Northug placed second to teammate Martin Johnsrud Sundby in the Tour de Ski and finished the World Cup third overall behind Sundby and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, respectively.

Most telling of all may be what Norwegian team director Vidar Løfshus told Dagbladet. “I think it’s a shame,” he said. “But we’ll manage just fine without Petter, too.”

Løfshus observed that Northug’s biggest successes have been in championship years, of which this season is not.

“In the World Cup, there are other Norwegians who have been just as good,” he said.

On reopening negotiations, “We’re not going to take more initiative,” he added. “We gave him a good deal.”

Petter Northug posted this meme on Instagram on Monday following the Norwegian ski federation’s announcement that he was off the team for the 2015/2016 season for his failure to sign a contract with the team. (Photo: Petter Northug/Instagram)

As of early Tuesday, Northug had not publicly commented, but posted an Instagram meme with a cat captioned, “Haters gonna hate.”

Coop deflected comments. Communications director Bjørn Takle Friis wrote, “This is a matter between the Norwegian Ski Federation and Petter. Are Sørum Langås, Team Northug’s manager will comment on the matter when they are ready.”

With no World Championships or Olympics in 2016, this season’s main events are the Tour de Ski in early January and the Canadian World Cup tour in March. Beyond this season, Northug’s future on the national squad may be determined by the men’s team’s performance this winter. For now, he’s on the outside, looking in.

September 15, 2015
Trond Nystad: I’m Honored to Take This Position

“I feel like I was the first choice. That’s why I’m sitting here,” Trond Nystad said when he was introduced as the new head coach for the Norwegian national men’s all-round team. Nystad replaces Morten Aa Djupvik, who resigned in April. Nystad served as the head coach for the US Ski Team from 2002 to 2006.

The Norwegian Ski Association (NSF) initially had a long list of candidates to narrow down. Some of the individuals the NSF approached were not interested, others determined that they didn’t have the time and some were tied up with other obligations. Pretty soon, Trond Nystad was identified as the hottest candidate to replace Morten Aa Djupvik.

At the end of that process, four candidates interviewed with the staffing firm Adecco Select.

“We believe Trond Nystad has what it takes to do the job for NSF,” Hedevig Stang Castberg of Adecco Select said to Norwegian news agency NTB.

“I feel that we have hired a leader who is ready to coach as well as manage the team. Previously, we have been accused of only looking within our own ranks to fill these kinds of positions. This time, we have hired an outside candidate with experience from the United States, Germany and Switzerland,” Hermod Bjørkestøl said. He is the chair of the NSF cross-country committee.

“He was one of several strong candidates, and I am satisfied with the outcome. Trond has the skills and qualities we were looking for, and we believe we have a strong coaching team in him and assistant coach Steinar Mundal,” national team director Vidar Løfshus said.

An honor

Løfshus knows Nystad well from their time in the United States. They both worked together as coaches with the US Ski Team. That bond was one of the reasons Nystad was identified as a strong candidate for the national team coaching position. National team directors like to know who they are working with.

Nystad said he was “grilled, double-checked and cross-referenced” in a long, exciting and exhausting hiring process.

“It was a very open, honest and diligent process. I did not choose myself for the position. I am honored to step into this position. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with athletes and coaches of this caliber,” Nystad said.

Goals

– What goals do you have in terms of results?

“The Norwegian racers placed well both in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and in the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. The biggest challenge will be to improve on those results in a non-championship season. We have to do better at Tour de Ski, and we need a more consistent World Cup results,” Nystad said.

Nystad considers himself as man who performs well under stress and is a good communicator.

“I believe I work well in a team,” Nystad said.

Brothers on the team

Neither the NSF nor the staffing firm Adecco Select considers it a problem that Trond Nystad’s twin brother Knut Nystad is the head wax coach for the Norwegian national team. They don’t worry that the relationship between the brothers will be a destructive factor.

– What kind of relationship do you have to your brother?

“We don’t have any issues. We’ve worked together before in a professional setting, and we agree on a lot of things. He thinks he’s nicer, more intelligent and sexier than me. I don’t entirely agree. That’s a discussion I don’t think we’ll ever finish,” Trond Nystad said.

Trond Nystad is currently the CEO of a company in Denver, Colorado. That’s a position he has to conclude before he moves back to Norway. Most likely, the national team camp at Sognefjellet in the beginning of June will be Nystad’s first coaching experience with the Norwegian national team skiers.

From NTB, May 13, 2011. Translation by Inge Scheve

May 16, 2011
Trond Nystad Accepted the Head Coach Position

Trond Nystad, 40, was introduced as the new head coach for the Norwegian men’s all-round cross country team Thursday.

Trond Nystad is Knut Nystad’s twin brother. Knut Nystad is the head wax coach for the Norwegian cross country teams.

From 2002 to 2006, Trond Nystad was the head coach for the US cross country ski team. At that time, Vidar Løfshus, who is the new director of the Norwegian cross country national teams, was also a part of the US Ski Team coaching staff. From 2007 to 2010, Trond Nystad was the sprint coach for the Swiss national cross country team.

Nystad was married to the retired German cross country skier Claudia Nystad. Nystad lived in the United States until recently. Wednesday, he was interviewing with the Norwegian Ski Association about the head coach position for the Norwegian national men’s all-round team.

From NTB, May 12, 2011. Translation by Inge Scheve

May 12, 2011
Roar Hjelmeset New Norwegian Sprint Coach

Roar Hjelmeset will replace Jon Arne Schjetne as the Norwegian women’s national sprint team.

Hjelmeset replaced Fredrik Aukland as the Norwegian junior national team in 2008. After three years as the head coach for the Norwegian junior and U23 national teams, Hjelmeset was supposed to be the head coach for the new recruitment/development national team for the upcoming season.

“A month ago, I was approached about the position as the women’s sprint team coach, and I’ve spent a lot of time making my decision. We’ve worked with a lot of very inspiring and talented young skiers on the junior national team and on the U23 team. I’ve really enjoyed working with these skiers, but I felt like I couldn’t turn down this opportunity. I also thought that it might be a long time to be with the development team for three years, given that the senior head coaches most likely will continue in their positions at least through the Olympics in Sotchi,” Hjelmeset said in a press release from the Norwegian Ski Association.

Roar Hjelmeset, who is Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset’s younger brother, has extensive experience with elite cross country skiing, both from the racing and the coaching perspective. He retired from racing after the 2005 season and started coaching. After six years in the coaching profession, he is now the coach for some of the best sprint skiers in the world.

“The girls on the women’s national sprint team are not very old either, and there are several skiers who are developing rapidly. I’ve signed up to coach a very accomplished sprint team,” Hjelmeset said.

National team director Vidar Løfshus is excited that Hjelmeset accepted the offer.

“We know what qualifications he has. Roar will work closely with the women’s national team head coach Egil Kristiansen, who was actively involved in the final selection,” Løfshus said, adding that there were several highly qualified applicants to the position.

However, when Hjelmeset accepted the sprint coach position, the head coach for the new recruitment/development team is now open. But Hjelmeset has a clear opinion on what kind of coach the team needs.

“The ideal candidate is an up-and-coming person who is capable of seeing the whole picture. The coach needs to be aware of the second-tier skiers as well as the top young racers. The coach needs to attend a lot of race venues, including Norway Cup events and Scandinavian Cup events,” Hjelmeset said. He admits that it will be hard for him to leave the new recruitment/development team already, when the 2011-12 season is just barely underway.

Press release from the Norwegian Ski Association May 11, 2011. Translation by Inge Scheve

May 11, 2011