She skied her way into the World Championships squad for Trondheim last winter and dreamed of the Olympics. Then she suddenly disappeared.

This was supposed to be the Olympic season where she took the final step. Instead, the crash came.

When Silje Theodorsen lined up at the Norwegian Championships last week, she had not competed since the Scandinavian Cup in Östersund in mid-December. There, she finished 81st on the first day and went straight home.

The 31-year-old from Tromsø arrived at the Norwegian Championships in Steinkjer as the defending champion over 10 kilometers. This year’s outcome was 29th place. After five weeks on the sidelines with illness, injuries, and a loss of form, the Olympic dream had long since been abandoned.

“I’ve mainly focused on getting healthy and bringing my body back into balance. Just being able to line up for a ski race. That was by far my biggest goal this year. Where I am now, the goal has simply been to make it to the start line. It’s very, very frustrating,” Theodorsen tells Nordlys.

“Illness and injuries, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. It’s the sum of several things that have led to this situation.”

Now she opens up about the setback.

Had to make changes

Theodorsen does not have a clear answer for the downturn.

But after finishing 13th in the 10-kilometer race at the World Championships in Trondheim, and 24th in the same event at the 2023 World Championships, she was still far from satisfied with her performance in Trondheim.

“I feel like I have the opportunity of a lifetime here, and then I waste it. That’s the feeling I’m left with,” she said disappointedly to Langrenn.com after the World Championships race in March.

After last season, she changed her training approach.

“I felt like I still had more in me. I wanted to see what I could do differently,” says Theodorsen.

A real altitude crash

Heading into the Olympic season, she adjusted her training and trained harder than ever before. The new plan included a much heavier focus on altitude training, with three periods of three weeks each during the build-up. It could go one of two ways: to the sky or straight to hell.

“I took a huge risk and did a lot of altitude training this year. In isolation, it worked quite well until it didn’t. After the last altitude camp, my body hasn’t functioned the way it should,” she says.

At the same time, Theodorsen says she was aware of the risks. But she felt she had to make changes to move forward.

“I still believe in altitude training. It’s that famous knife-edge. And it’s even sharper when you do altitude training.”

Olympics 2026

The final selection for the Norwegian team for the Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina was announced on January 20.

The 2026 Olympic Games will take place from February 6 to 22. All cross-country skiing events will be held in Val di Fiemme. The first cross-country competition is the women’s skiathlon on February 7.

Also Read: Norwegian cross-country skiing team confirmed for the 2026 Winter Olympics

Winter Olympic Games

February 4-22, 2026: Milano Cortina, Italy (Winter Olympic Games)

• 07/02: Skiathlon, Women
• 08/02: Skiathlon, Men
• 10/02: Sprint Classic, Women and Men
• 12/02: 10km Freestyle, Women
• 13/02: 10km Freestyle, Men
• 14/02: Relay, Women
• 15/02: Relay, Men
• 18/02: Team Sprint, Women and Men
• 21/02: 50km Classic, Men
• 22/02: 50km Classic, Women

*Complete program for the Winter Olympic Games can be found HERE

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