Believes the Norwegian national team and Olympiatoppen have already decided the final two Olympic spots, and that Iversen will be squeezed out. At the same time, he says he understands prioritization from a sporting perspective.

Criticism has poured in against the Norwegian national team leadership following Tuesday’s Olympic selection. Mattis Stenshagen received the green light; Emil Iversen did not. Six of the eight spots have now been allocated, with the final two to be decided after the Norwegian Championships next week.

However, Hans Christer Holund doubts that Iversen will be one of them.

This, even though Iversen has delivered one of the greatest comebacks in recent years, and a strong Olympic case. The 34-year-old, who was previously dropped from the national team, meets all formal criteria and more: he has three World Cup podiums in relevant events and is demonstrably one of the world’s best distance skiers.

“I feel for Emil. After so many difficult years, he has fought his way back to this level. Honestly, I didn’t think that would happen,” Holund says in the Hans & Holund podcast, continuing:

“It would have been the icing on the cake if he had won an Olympic medal. That would have been a sunshine story, an inspiration to many. That’s why it’s sad that he’s being sacrificed in this selection.”

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Iversen sacrificed

Holund emphasizes that it is formally Olympiatoppen that selects the Olympic team, based on recommendations from the cross-country national team management.

The elite sports organization’s clear goal for the 2026 Olympics is to have Norway win 35 medals.

To reach that target, it is more valuable to select a cross-country squad with three or four medal contenders in sprint events than a squad with six medal contenders in distance races but only one or two in sprint. In any case, a maximum of three medals can be won in each event.

“Then you have to ask: which discipline are we weakest in as a team? And Olympiatoppen has probably concluded that it’s sprint. We have Johannes (Høsflot Klæbo). He’s almost a gold guarantee. But behind him, there have been far more foreign athletes on the podium in sprint than in distance races so far this season,” Holund says, adding:

“By selecting two pure sprinters instead of one, as we and much of the Norwegian ski community expected, the chances of winning an additional sprint medal increase significantly.”

“Norway has a luxury problem”

Without two specialist sprinters, the Olympic sprint team would most likely consist of Klæbo, Erik Valnes, Harald Østberg Amundsen, and one sprinter, most likely Oskar Opstad Vike.

“Three of them have very good chances of winning a medal, but based on this season’s results, Harald is not good enough to win a sprint medal. From that perspective, it makes sense for Olympiatoppen to select two pure sprinters in addition to Johannes (Klæbo). And then there’s no room for Emil on the Olympic team. Norway has a luxury problem. We already have four others in the squad with exactly the same qualities as Emil,” Holund says.

The Norwegian Championships are dangerous for Iversen

Holund further points out that, regardless of what happens at the Norwegian Championships, which serve as the final Olympic qualifier, the outcome could be negative for Iversen.

“If Emil makes one mistake at the Championships, gets the skis wrong, or something else goes wrong, and he doesn’t perform, then it becomes very easy for the Ski Association and Olympiatoppen to select two pure sprinters. That’s what they want, and that’s what they’re signaling by not selecting Emil now,” he says.

Holund’s podcast co-host Hans Kristian Stadheim agrees.

“And damn, do I feel for Emil Iversen. Damn, how fast he’s skied, and damn how much he deserves to compete at the Olympics. My point isn’t that I think it’s right that Emil shouldn’t go to the Olympics. My point is that this is incredibly difficult,” Stadheim says.

“It’s not black and white that if Emil skis poorly at the Championships, he’s out, and if he skis fast, he’s in. I think it will be a broader assessment weighed against Olympiatoppen’s ambitions for the team. Almost no matter how you look at it, it ends up feeling wrong,” he concludes.

Heading to altitude

For precisely these reasons, Emil Iversen has chosen to skip the Norwegian Championships. Throughout the season, he has already proven that he is one of the world’s best distance skiers. The only thing he could do at the Championships was ski himself out of the discussion. Instead, he is heading to altitude to prepare in the same way as those who have already received Olympic confirmation.

The Norwegian Championships in Steinkjer will take place from January 14 to 18. The program includes a classic sprint, 10km freestyle, and skiathlon. All are Olympic events and count as selection races. Relays will also be held on Sunday.

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