After Bergisel jump — Norwegian furious: “I’m so sick of this place”

Rage at Bergisel: Granerud stuck in elevator and misses final

Huge frustration for Halvor Egner Granerud. After the trial round on Sunday he got back into the Bergisel tower only to be trapped in the elevator with other jumpers for more than half an hour — and shortly afterwards he missed qualification for the second round.

It got worse: Granerud apparently kept his jumping gear on during the delay because the organisers had misplaced the bag with his street shoes. That left almost no time for his warm-up routine. His jump of 118 metres was not enough — in 31st place the two-time overall World Cup winner and 2023 Four Hills Tournament champion just missed advancing to the final. A bitter disappointment — and Granerud was rightly furious with the Innsbruck organisers.

“Final missed by a hair”

"That’s really messed up," he said in an interview with Viaplay. "I hope they are not allowed to hold events here again next year. This is not acceptable, this is really shitty. I’m so sick of this place. I’m wondering if next year, when I’m not fighting for the tour win, I’ll simply use the opportunity and skip the event here."

Apology from organisers

Ingo Jenssen, the Tour press officer, explained that the elevator had technical problems which caused delays for several athletes — including Granerud. "That should not happen," he said, and apologised for the unpleasant situation.

Context

The incident took place at the Bergisel hill in Innsbruck during the Four Hills/Vierschanzentournee series. The story comes amid other controversies at the venue (including a wax-sabotage alarm and further disqualifications reported around the same competition).