Norwegian jumper angered Poles. Here's his explanation

Anders Jacobsen angered Poles. Here's his explanation

By Natalia Żaczek — Correspondence from the Four Hills Tournament

In this interview Jacobsen revisits his debut World Cup season and his breakthrough at the 2012/13 Four Hills Tournament, recalling episodes that later provoked controversy in Poland and explaining what he actually meant.

He says his expectations for that season were cautious — he went to Germany and Austria to get used to top-level competition — but good early results gave him confidence. He describes Oberstdorf, Garmisch and Innsbruck in detail: poor track conditions in Garmisch, a frank conversation with coach Mika Kojonkoski in Innsbruck that changed his approach, and how he gradually found the rhythm that carried him through Bischofshofen to overall victory.

Jacobsen remembers the sudden spotlight when he returned to Norway after the win — media attention, TV offers and local fans greeting him at the airport — and admires how special it felt to compete and win on big stages among great rivals like Adam Małysz, Gregor Schlierenzauer and Michael Morgenstern.

On several occasions he also explains controversial moments that Polish fans took badly. He points at one interview that was widely shared and, he believes, poorly translated via Google: his comments about Norwegians hiring Polish workers were simplified and lost context, which made Poles upset. He insists he felt appreciated in Poland and that the quote was not intended as an insult.

Jacobsen recalls the “magic boots” episode and other equipment provocations: small, legal adjustments to boots or suits intended to distract or gain marginal advantages. He says such moves were within the rules at the time or at least on the legal edge, and that many teams were operating similarly. He admits that in his day some kit was used right up to the limit and that the sport has since tightened controls — for example suit checks and “chipping” procedures to confirm sizes — which he views as positive for fairness.

He describes a tactic he used — stretching sleeve material at the wrist so it extended over the glove — pointing out that the rules specified minimum reach but not maximum sleeve length, and that visual impressions often fuel suspicion even when a jumper is legal. Jacobsen argues equipment today matters even more because small gains can translate into meters, and teams now tailor kit very precisely to athletes.

Reflecting on his career arc he admits he got complacent at times, did not train as hard as required, and later suffered a severe knee injury in Planica that contributed to a decline and ultimately to retirement. After stepping away he worked for NRK as a commentator and occasional trial jumper, and he explains how his perspective on the sport changed.

Asked about the scandal at the World Championships in Trondheim involving Norwegian team equipment, Jacobsen says it saddened him and that the episode felt like doping to many observers. He insists that while some practices were creative and pushed limits, they were not always outright cheating in the classic sense. He welcomes the stricter bottom-up checks now in place and suggests improved on‑hill inspection procedures would help avoid the “control in progress” situation that creates uncertainty.

Overall Jacobsen underlines that controversies often stem from perception as much as from technical rule-bending, and he defends that many early incidents were about exploiting grey zones rather than deliberate fraud. He ends by noting that controls have improved and that the sport is moving toward greater fairness, even if perfect enforcement remains a challenge.

Source: Przegląd Sportowy Onet — 5 January 2026