Clas Brede Bråthen, 52, is fighting to keep his job as athletic director of the Norwegian national jump teams.
The 52-year-old ushered in a new golden age for Norwegian showjumping after taking over as manager in 2004. You have to go back to the 1960s to find similar success.
Roar Ljøkelsøy, Sigurd Pettersøy, Lars Bystøl, Anders Jacobsen, Anders Bardal, Rune Velta, Daniel-André Tande, Halvor Egner Granerud and Maren Lundby made Norwegian ski jumping achievements under Bråthen’s leadership.
Now the jump committee, ski chief Eric Rosti and Engfield general secretary Britten Berg, has decided, however, that Prathin will not be allowed to continue when the contract expires next spring.
Men’s coach Alexander Stockel, women’s coach Christian Mayer and jump stars such as Tandy, Granrod and Lundby have all formally asked senior management to reverse the sudden decision.
At the same time, VG is informed that Bråthen is receiving help from lawyers in the case. Therefore, he also does not want to be interviewed at the moment.
– I have to follow the advice I get from those helping me with legal affairs now, Bråthen tells VG.
He gets tremendous support
Stöckl, Tande and Lundby told VG that they did not understand why Bråthen was not allowed to continue and that they should not receive an explanation from senior management.
– We are very happy with the work Clas Brede is doing, which he has been doing for many years, and therefore this is strange for us as a team. Tandy made it clear on Wednesday that it’s at least when we don’t know why they don’t want to be there.
– We love Klass, see what he managed to make. It is very incomprehensible. If it was without results and I didn’t like it, I would have understood. But it’s definitely not about that for us, says Lundby, who thinks Bråthen is almost irreplaceable.
Among other things, she is very grateful for the way Prathin fought for the rights of jumpers.
– It is very important to have someone who dares to take those settlements there and turn the tide. It’s a class, in a very nice way. He has always been a good supporter in those situations.
contract stop
This situation makes him uncertain about his future, says Stockel. His contracts and the rest of the contracts of the support equipment expire after the current Olympic season.
– Stöckl tells VG that the situation is stressful.
Brathen initially signed a new agreement that the Jump Committee also signed in June, but General Secretary Britten Berg later refused to put his name on it. It has not yet responded to VG’s inquiries about the issue.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
