Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Lukas Braathen

The day before the World Cup opened, Lukas Bräthen announced his retirement from playing, aged just 23 years old.

Clutches and many other athletes have been in conflict with the Ski Association for a long time. Read the background to the conflict in the fact box below:

Background of the conflict between athletes and the Ski Federation:

The conflict concerns the agreement that the athletes have with the Alpine national team and the Norwegian Ski Federation.
It all started several years ago, but the big turning point came in the winter of 2022. In a statement issued by the legislative committee of the Norwegian Ski Federation, it turned out that the athletes had won the battle for image rights.
The statement states that athletes and NSF together must agree on the extent to which NSF will be permitted to use athlete image rights in the association’s commercial agreements. Athletes thus gain greater influence and influence when the federation negotiates with sponsors.
Lawyer Pall Kleven, who represents the athletes, was waiting for the Norwegian Skiing Association (NSF) to contact him so that they could negotiate a new agreement with the association in line with the new rules drawn up by the legislative committee.
In May of this year, the Ski Board adopted a new agreement for the national team. The athletes’ attorney referred to the decision as “completely one-sided without listening to the athletes at all.”
The athletes believe that the agreement conflicts with the committee’s decision, and have submitted the national team agreement as an order to the Norwegian Ski Federation’s monitoring committee.

I do not agree with the decision

Earlier, Kjetil André Aamodt shared his thoughts on the decision.

-We had the same struggles that Lucas Brathen had. “There are many who have exactly the same thing as him, and that’s why I think there should be something more,” Aamodt told Netafisin, referring to the conflict with the skating association.

– The former alpine climber said that there are many who have had much harder skiing than Lukas Bräthen, but they are still skiing.

Read also: Keitel Andre Aamodt on Lucas Bräthen: – I hope he comes back as a Brazilian

Now Martin Johnsrud Sundby also tells us his thoughts on the surprise exit in a new episode of the ‘Hanna & the Lucky Ones’ podcast.

– It is absolutely impossible to understand, opens Sundby.

– If your love for sports is great enough, as I experienced with all my colleagues, the last thing you want in the world is to quit smoking. They are forced to quit because they are not good enough.

I experienced the same thing

Martin Johnsrud Sundby himself has a long career behind him. With five Olympic medals and nine World Cup medals, he is among Norway’s most admired skiers.

Read also: Claybo’s wonderful comeback tracks: – There must be sincere smiles

– How many conflicts have you encountered with the Ski Association throughout the time? Or how many conflicts have you encountered with sponsors or other actors? The list is infinitely long. But you’ll find solutions if you’re passionate about what you do, he says on the podcast.

Sundby understands the frustration, but he still disagrees with the decision.

– I can understand that you are tired of this process, that you have become on edge with people, and it seems that working with these people is a complete no-no. I’ve been there myself. I’m not everyone’s best friend at the Norwegian Ski Association, and I never will be, says Sundby, but he continues:

– What I find very difficult to understand, and which also applies to Johannes Claybaugh, is what matters. Aren’t they your teammates, the ones you work with every day, and stand side by side with? He says wonderingly.

– Not the old boy

He would rather see Braaths continue his work as an alpine climber and work harder to create change.

– I think it’s strange to read that you want changes in society, but then get out of it. There is something annoying to me.

– I think Lukas Brathen is right on almost all points, but I don’t think you should stop skating because of that.

Read also: Guide: Everything you need to know before the cross-country ski season

– He’s not an old boy, he could have spent ten years improving this system and making sure other athletes have different opportunities than he has now. This also applies to Johannes Klaebo.

He also didn’t want to paint the skating association entirely black.

– It is the same skating federation that wants to ensure that the national team sport remains big in Norway.