Norwegian cross-country skier Ingvild Flugstad Østberg will not compete in the season premiere at Beitostølen. Read below to find out why the skier has been denied a start again.

Ingvild Flugstad Østberg has been denied a start again. The reason is the same as before: She needs to meet the requirements for the health certificate that all athletes must meet to represent Norway in international competitions.

This means Flugstad Østberg will miss the season premiere at Beitosølen this weekend. 

“The situation as of today is that Ingvild, unfortunately, does not meet the requirements for the approved health certificate and is, therefore, unable to compete in ski races,” says national team doctor Ove Feragen in a press release. 

The reason for the denial is the same one that the cross-country skier has struggled with for several years.

“I set high standards for myself and constantly seek development to compete for the top places and medals while at the same time wanting to take care of my health. I’ve put in an enormous amount of work with a good support system around me, but unfortunately, not all parameters are currently good enough to get an approved health certificate. The balance between training and nutrition has not been good enough,” says Ingvild Flugstad Østberg.

Many absences

Ingvild Flugstad Østberg is one of the many Norwegian athletes who will not start at the Beitosølen premiere. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo was also forced to skip the season opener. 

Yesterday, Petter Northug, Team Janteloppet, announced that he will miss the races in Norway. 

The reason is a shoulder strain the 37-year-old incurred in the last intense training period leading up to the season openers. He realizes he will also miss the season opener in Beitostølen after skipping the races at the Finnish premiere in Muonio. Northug is not taking any chances.

Read More: Petter Northug misses Beitostølen

Also, this week, it became clear that Helene Marie Fossesholm will not participate in the opening weekend. She did not participate in the national team’s last altitude training in Livigno in the October/November transition.

Fossesholm has had a challenging preseason and has indefinitely put her career on hold.

Last week, Julie Myhre announced that she will miss the season opener due to injuries.

Furthermore, Tiril Udnes Weng has contracted Covid. Three men’s national team members also got Covid in Finland before the weekend and had to return home from Muonio on Friday.

Read more: Covid hits Norwegian National Team in Finland.

FACTS: Health Certificate/Refusal to Start

• The health certificate is a form that is filled out by the athletes and the athletes’ doctor and must be approved by the health team in the athletes’ national federation before the athletes can start in competitions. In addition to measuring and weighing and standard health values, the form includes questions about diet and thoughts about weight and weight loss. 
• Athletes must meet the requirements for an approved health certificate to compete internationally for their federation. 
• A non-approved health certificate does not totally ban competing but strongly discourages it for the athletes’ health. Athletes can decide for themselves whether they want to compete regionally and nationally.
• The health certificate was introduced for cross-country skiing and biathlon in the 2015/2016 season.
• When high-profile athletes are denied permission to compete, new attention is drawn to the topic. This happened, for example, when Ingvild Flugstad Østberg was denied entry before the season premiere at Beitostølen in November 2019 and when Sweden’s Frida Karlsson was denied entry just after the World Cup opening just a couple of weeks later.
• Since then, the topic has resurfaced at regular intervals. At the end of the 2019/2020 season, Jessie Diggins from the USA went public about her problems with weight and nutrition. Diggins has written a book about her issues and challenges around the topic. She is also open about the fact that she suffered a relapse of her eating disorder this summer.