Cross Country Skiing
Cross-country: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on the criticized ad: “I don’t control it”
October 09, 2025 / SVT Sport
Norwegian cross-country star Johannes Høsflot Klæbo comments on a controversial candy advertisement featuring lightly clad national team skiers that was pulled after criticism for being provocative and potentially triggering eating disorders. Klæbo says he doesn’t decide such matters and suggests it may have been a fight they should have taken. His remarks appear in the TV program “Skavlan & Sverige.”
A forgotten legend of German winter sports
October 09, 2025 / SPORT1
The article profiles East German cross-country skiing great Gerhard Grimmer on the second anniversary of his death. It recounts his historic wins at Holmenkollen, double gold at the 1974 Falun World Championships, Olympic misfortune including a mysterious relay incident in 1976, and his controversial post-career ties to the GDR doping system.
Cross-country skiing: Therese Johaug hid the real reason she retired: “Help, help”
October 09, 2025 / SVT Sport
Therese Johaug reveals she initially planned a comeback targeting the 2026 Winter Olympics, but unexpected pregnancy with her second child led her to end her career instead. She describes spring training struggles with fatigue and high pulse, then learning she was pregnant and calling coach Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass in tears; her husband Nils Jakob Hoff had publicly backed an Olympic push. Johaug had just missed golds at the Trondheim 2025 World Championships and announced retirement in May and pregnancy in July, with the baby due in January.
Cross-country skier Martin Flores and his dream of the 2026 Olympics
October 09, 2025 / Sportschau
Chilean cross-country skier Martin Flores is training at 3,000 meters in Portillo, Chile, as he pursues qualification for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. A short video segment from ARD’s Morgenmagazin profiles his high-altitude preparations and ambition to represent Chile at the Games.
Cross-country: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on the mental battle before Worlds: “Total crisis”
October 09, 2025 / SVT Sport
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo reveals he faced a severe mental struggle in the months leading up to the Trondheim World Championships, despite ultimately winning six golds on home snow. He says he lived with extreme discipline—training, nutrition and sleep—yet illness just before the event left him considering giving up. Klæbo shares the experience in the TV program “Skavlan & Sverige,” airing October 9 on SVT.
Cross-country: William Poromaa changes plan – skips altitude camp: “I lost my way”
October 08, 2025 / SVT Sport
Swedish cross-country skier William Poromaa will skip a planned mid-season altitude camp after struggling with illness and a poor response to back-to-back high-altitude blocks last season. Despite winning his first World Cup race and taking World Championships medals (50 km silver and relay bronze), he says the pre-Christmas period and Tour de Ski were largely disappointing, and he learned he doesn’t recover well from a second altitude stint. With the 2026 Olympics ahead, he is adjusting his training to avoid overreaching and illness.
Shock retirement at 24: Norwegian relay world champion Helene Marie Fossesholm ends career
October 08, 2025 / SPORT1
Norway’s Helene Marie Fossesholm has retired from cross‑country skiing at just 24, citing a prolonged loss of motivation despite efforts over the summer to rekindle her drive. The 2021 world relay gold medallist drew emotional reactions from teammates and coaches, while revealing plans to begin medical studies.
Cross-country skiing: Helene Marie Fossesholm warns that a revenge-hungry Norway will challenge Sweden
October 08, 2025 / SVT Sport
Recently retired at 24, Norway’s Helene Marie Fossesholm says she still believes Norway’s women will soon challenge Sweden’s current dominance in cross-country skiing. She argues Norwegian women’s skiing runs in cycles and has promising talents coming through, adding that the team won’t accept Sweden sweeping titles on Norwegian soil again. Her comments come as Norway adjusts to Therese Johaug’s definitive retirement and a couple of down seasons for the women’s squad.
At just 24: Norwegian world champion Helene Marie Fossesholm retires
October 08, 2025 / Kronen Zeitung (krone.at)
Norway’s cross-country skier Helene Marie Fossesholm has announced her retirement at age 24, citing a prolonged loss of motivation despite intensive preparation. Teammates and figures such as Therese Johaug and Heidi Weng, as well as national coach Sjur Ole Svarstad, expressed shock at the timing so close to the season. Fossesholm, a 2021 relay world champion with World Cup podiums and a national 10 km freestyle title, plans to study medicine.
Finnish head coach outraged by 2026 Olympic quota split: men’s relay may have only 8–10 teams
October 08, 2025 / Yle
Finland’s head coach Teemu Pasanen criticizes the Milan–Cortina 2026 cross‑country skiing quota system, warning that the men’s 4×7.5 km relay in Val di Fiemme could feature as few as 8–10 teams due to restrictive athlete allocations. Under the Olympic ranking-based distribution, many nations receive just one spot, capping strong countries’ men’s rosters at seven and leaving potential medal contenders at home. While women’s teams generally have full quotas, Pasanen says Finland and even powerhouse Norway face difficult selections, with Norway potentially excluding Olympic title candidates.