Norwegian biathlon star Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold has spoken openly in a radio podcast about the dark side of elite sport and excessive optimization. She has struggled personally with psychological difficulties stemming from total subordination to sport.

Norwegian biathlete Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold spoke on the Skiklubben podcast for public broadcaster NRK about the problems of elite sport, excessive optimization, and the growing dependence of young athletes on technology, including the widespread overuse of smartwatches, heart rate monitors, and data apps among the younger generation of athletes.

The Norwegian national team member acknowledges that modern technology has taken a huge step forward, but at the same time warns against losing the basic ability to perceive one’s own body.

“When I ask a young athlete how they are doing, quite often they first look at their watch and start talking about their heart rate. But that was not what I was asking,” she says, describing her experiences in the training environment.

Watches now show athletes precise recovery timers or recommendations such as “your fitness level is -4 today.” Blind trust in these numbers leads people to forget how to listen to the signals of their own bodies.

Tandrevold emphasizes that not every training session needs to be measured down to the last detail, and that not everything belongs on social platforms like Strava.

Back to nature

Tandrevold urges young athletes and recreational skiers alike not to be afraid to leave their watches behind occasionally. She also highlights the importance of accounting for biological cycles in women, where physical and emotional state naturally varies throughout the month in ways no algorithm can perfectly capture.

In her view, the path to elite performance does not run through slavish adherence to data metrics, but through the ability to understand oneself.

Total focus on sport

The winner of 26 World Cup races in total and four-time world champion has, however, struggled personally with psychological difficulties, a kind of analysis paralysis. Over the past two seasons she reached a point where the pursuit of perfect performance turned against her. In her drive to push her limits, she subordinated everything to sport, adjusting her diet, recovery, and training, and sacrificing personal relationships as well.

Instead of the breakthrough she had hoped for, psychological tension and anxiety followed.

Unlike before, when she would step to the start line fully motivated, she began to feel fear about races and focused on simply getting through them with some dignity. Although she had previously coped with heart surgery due to an arrhythmia, dealing with psychological distress proved considerably harder.

“I started dreading races, something I had never experienced before. Before, I used to look forward to them and stand at the start line completely fired up. But gradually it got to the point where all I cared about was somehow managing to finish a race with a bit of dignity,” Tandrevold admitted.

The excessive focus on details had disrupted her natural movement automatisms. “It is like when you are running or cycling and you start thinking in detail about every movement of your legs. Then you become unnatural, and that is exactly how I felt,” she explained.

Return to nature

To rediscover joy in sport and in life, she decided to stop trying to meet other people’s expectations and to do things her own way. She took a break from a television reality show, found peace in growing herbs in her garden, and returned to her natural skiing style. As she puts it, cross-country skiing is the most fun when you do it your own way.

Are you interested in training for long-distance, traditional cross-country skiing and biathlon? Click HERE and read more about it.

As a member of ProXCskiing.com, you get full access to all content on the site. Also, live streaming of Ski Classics events with English commentary is available.

When you become part of one of the World’s leading XC ski communities, you will receive many exclusive offers all year round.

REGISTER HERE AS A MEMBER