Norway forms first-ever Women’s national team
Sep 17, 2019·Nordic Combined
The Norwegian Ski Association has named three athletes to their first-ever Nordic Combined Women’s national team. Gyda Westvold Hansen and Mari and Marte Leinan Lund have been selected to spearhead the Norwegian effort in Women’s Nordic Combined.
Even though the first World Cup and World Championship events for women in Nordic Combined will only take place in the 2020/21 season but the sport is rapidly developing.
“We decided to establish an elite team for women already for the coming season”, Norwegian Nordic Combined Committee Head Edgar Fossheim said. “The purpose is to stimulate inspiration and dedication among the athletes. The Combined Committee also believes that the signal effect in establishing a national team will be motivating for other athletes who are ob the development team”.
Concretely, the trio of athletes will receive an improved sports offer and the programme will be further upgraded for the 20/20 World Cup season.
“We are entering the most exciting time for women in Nordic Combined over the next few years. The three selected athletes all come from Nord-Østerdal, which has strong Nordic Combined traditions, and they are "pioneers" in a new national team”, Sports Director Ivar Stuan added.
The trio lives in Trondheim and trains daily in Granåsen Ski Team. Former national team athlete Thomas Kjelbotn has been engaged as a coach for the national team in a part-time position. Kjelbotn is also a daily coach in the Granåsen Ski Team.
