Swiss ski players have made progress under Norwegian coach Rune Velta this season. On Sunday, 32-year-old Gregor Deschwanden took the podium for the first time ever, when he came second in Klingenthal.
There – deep in the German forests – Norwegian and Swiss players stayed in the same hotel. Over the weekend, a private incident occurred in the corridors of the Waldhotell.
When the Norwegian tailor and soldier Anders Ladhog returned to the hotel, there was a Swiss jacket lying in the hallways. Ladehaug took out his cellphone to take pictures of the jumpsuit. Suddenly someone came from behind him with quick steps and said:
– no no no!
In the German forests: Norway and Switzerland both stayed here this weekend – at the Waldhotell in Klingenthal.
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The person was Swiss skier Kilian Pierre (28 years old). He wasn’t a fan of Ladehaug taking a photo of his jumpsuit at all.
-You always look at what other countries are doing. So it is stupid to leave the suit open in the hallway. But I was taken to bed, Ladhug admits to Dagbladet.
Pierre came behind me with quick steps and suddenly he was there. I apologize. Then he regained his composure and said, “It’s going well. It was stupid of me to leave the suit in the hall.”
Unsatisfied: Kilian Pierre from Switzerland did not like the photo of his suit. This photo is from Garmisch-Partenkirchen on a previous occasion. Image: NTP
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Ladehaug told the story himself in Jump cast. It is a podcast led by national team captain Johan Andre Forfang.
Show jumping manager Clas Brede Bråthen had not heard about the incident until Dagbladet contacted him. But in general he says:
– I think Anders did not do anything morally reprehensible. If one of our athletes had gone through the same thing, I would have said, “That was very stupid of you to leave the suit in the hallway. Get a grip!”
Pointing clutches:
-You have to put all the equipment where you want it for me. But then you can’t blame the people watching it. It gets a little silly. I don’t know anything about the setup. Maybe Pierre likes to joke with people. Maybe he made himself a little angrier than he was. I don’t know.
Head coach of Switzerland: Ron Veleta. Photo: Geir Olsen/NTB
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Swiss national team coach Ron Veletta told Dagbladet that he was aware of the incident:
– I have no comment on that, really. If it’s interesting to them and they want to spend their energy on it, I don’t care.
-Do you encourage jumpers to be careful when putting on their suits?
– Yes we did. He wasn’t supposed to stay where he did for long. That’s why Kilian got into this position, as I understand it. He didn’t do anything that was out of our routine.
Dispels rumours
The accident comes on the heels of the worst start to the season for the Norwegians since 2001. Austrian Stefan Kraft is leading the World Cup. Marius Lindvik and Halvor Aegner Granerud are in 15th and 16th places – more than 400 points apart.
According to Dagbladet’s understanding, the Norwegians were surprised by the fact that the equipment and technology were not working as they should.
– The jump suit is a bit sacred, says Ladhog.
-You don’t want anyone just looking at your gear. I think Pierre realized he made a mistake when he put the suit in the hallway.
– Why do you think he put it there?
-I think he got some sponsorship and the hotel room was too cramped. He used the entrance while people were running. But then he was a little slow on the uptake.
-Did you discover any secrets about his suit?
-We who work with jumpsuits want to look at as many jumpsuits as possible. But it looked like a perfectly normal suit.
Veleta stated that the Swiss would do nothing more about the incident. This weekend there’s another World Cup race, this time in Engelberg, Switzerland.
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