Northug and Bjørndalen after the role of Clutches in Brazil: – Miserable treatment by the Skating Federation

Northug and Bjørndalen after the role of Clutches in Brazil: – Miserable treatment by the Skating Federation

The surprise message came from Red Bull on Monday: 23-year-old Brathen will make an official announcement about his skating future on Thursday. Many media outlets then learned that the Norwegian would return to the Alpine Circus for Brazil.

– This is, of course, a major defeat for the Ski Federation. Peter Northug says Lucas could have been one of the leading figures in the Ski Federation if he had been there.

NTB meets the former king of skiing in the sun in Holmenkollen on Wednesday. Tronder knows all too well what it means to be in conflict with the Ski Association. He himself chose to leave the national team as an active player.

– Unfortunately, there is no place for Lucas in the Ski Federation, and you also have athletes who go to the World Cup in cross-country skiing and there is no place for them yet. “We hope that now there will be a change, and that a model will be found for the national team where there is room for better, even if they are a little different,” says Northug.

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defeat

Ole Einar Bjørndalen also updated on the latest developments in the case surrounding Braathen. He says the following to NTB based on reports that there will be a return to Brazilian colours.

– Of course, this is a defeat for the Ski Federation. It sucks that you can't keep great athletes like Lucas clutches. Not only did he suffer, but such a great athlete could lose at such a young age.

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He shocked the sporting community when he announced last October, just before the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Sölden, that he would immediately retire from playing, when he was only 23 years old.

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The reason, according to him, was that he lost the joy of skiing. The background was a long-term and difficult struggle with the Ski Federation over the national team agreement.

– It was very boring, and I could feel Lucas' emotions when he made the decision he did. I'm not very concerned with the nation, I don't care much. The most important thing for me now is that he has regained the motivation needed to be at the top. I want to see him on the right track. “It's a mix of colors and a person we need,” says Peter Northug.

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Low expectations

Bjørndalen had no expectations of Braathen returning to the ranks of the Norwegian FA.

– I would have been very surprised if he had. For him as a person, I think this is the best solution, as there has been a lot of conflict with the union and it has been going on for a long time, he told NTB.

Following conflicts with clutches and other athletes, the Skating Association formed a working group to consider the future model of the national team and the contractual framework that exists today.

When asked by NTB about his expectations for this work, Northug replied:

– Expectations are terribly low. I have been in the system there for many years. There are a lot of very good things about the national team, but when it comes to adapting and making things easier for people who are a little different and unique, the ski federation is just as bad as it was when I was in the national team and chose to leave it, he says. .

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The Norwegian Ski Association chose not to comment on the clutches issue ahead of Thursday's announced press conference at Red Bull in Salzburg.

– We do not wish to comment at this time, but refer to the press conference held on Thursday, Communications Director Espen Graf wrote in a letter to NTB on Tuesday.

Najuma Ojukwu

Najuma Ojukwu

"Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner."

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