The Swedes are searching for a new national team coach but remain tight-lipped. Now, they may have inadvertently revealed who it will be, following a major blunder from the Ski Association.

“This must be a real Swedish blunder,” says NRK’s cross-country skiing expert Torgeir Bjørn. He describes the slip-up as “comical.”

All signs now point to Sweden securing Norway’s gold coach Egil Kristiansen, as Langrenn.com and several Norwegian media reported last week. 

Major blunder

In their eagerness to announce Adidas as the new clothing sponsor for the national team, the Swedish Ski Association posted a picture featuring the Norwegian coaching figure prominently in the center.

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Kristiansen is seen posing alongside Ida Ingemarsdotter. The former national team star was part of the Swedish coaching staff last season, but has not confirmed whether she will continue for the upcoming season. 

Sweden’s national team coach Lars Öberg declined to comment on the matter. 

“No comments until 13:00 on Thursday, when we will present the national teams for 2026/2027 and certain changes in the national team leadership,” Öberg wrote to Expressen. 

The story continues below.

Gold mine

Egil Kristiansen has decades of experience coaching the Norwegian national team, first in cross-country skiing and for the last ten years in biathlon, producing athletes who have won numerous championship golds. However, in mid-April, it became clear that Kristiansen would not have his contract renewed with the biathlon team. 

The 60-year-old from Fåvang was clear that he does not feel finished as a coach, thus the hunt for the gold coach began. Now, the Swedish Ski Federation is reportedly making a move to secure the Norwegian veteran. 

If this happens, Kristiansen will have a cleanup job ahead of him. Following the Olympics, which were the worst in decades for the Swedish men and a historic gold fest for the women, there has been widespread dissatisfaction within the national team. 

This culminated in national team coach Anders Byström stepping down, a year before his contract was set to expire. 

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