– It was new, at least for me, says McGrath to news as he gets to hear the US comments to the president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). In a recent news survey on climate emissions, it emerged that alpine ski resorts have an annual emission of 29 tonnes of CO₂ per athlete. Most of them are Norwegian winter sports athletes, and McGrath thinks the number is “scary”. After the mapping, the race calendar of the alpine ski resorts has been criticised, and there has been particular reaction to the fact that you have to fly several times over the Atlantic during the same season. – We are actually trying to develop the sport and make the speed element and skiing more popular in the USA, says FIS president Johan Eliasch in an exclusive interview with news. THE FIS PRESIDENT: Johan Eliasch could imagine several USA races for the alpine skiers. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP – The only way to do that is to have more events in the USA, he believes. Hope the president changes his mind The Norwegian alpinist Atle Lie McGrath can appreciate the popularity perspective since the market in the USA is so large. At the same time, he believes that it should not be a problem to complete all the races in the USA in one trip. – If he (Eliasch) thinks that it is not relevant at first, then we can hope that there can be a change in that opinion, says McGrath. This is what the world cup season for the male speed racers looked like last season, where there were several trips to North America: This season there are eight USA races on the calendar for the male alpine skiers, where the three speed races in Beaver Creek at the beginning of December were canceled due to weather problems after the alpine slopes and support equipment were already in place. At the turn of the month February/March, the alpine circus must again go over for five technical races in Palisades Tahoe and Aspen. – The USA has a much lower carbon footprint – I think traveling here is a small part of the carbon footprint, says the FIS president. Eliasch bases this on the fact that there are far fewer contributors in the USA than in Europe. – The positive news when it comes to carbon footprint is that the gutter in the USA has a much lower carbon footprint. That’s because we have a few hundred supporters in the USA, but if we go to Schladming or Kitzbühel we have 20,000 or even 50,000 supporters. FOLKSAMT: This is what it looked like when Henrik Kristoffersen drove the final round in Austrian Schladming in January. Photo: Marco Trovati / AP – The total carbon footprint of traveling to the USA is actually much smaller than going to an event a short distance away in Central Europe, he concludes. – Do you have figures to prove this? – Yes, we have figures that prove it, says Eliasch and continues: – It’s not that difficult, because we know publicly what the average carbon footprint of one sponsor at an event is. Then you put it together and then calculate the emissions generated by flights, athletes and everyone who has to travel with the athletes. The Swedish-British FIS president therefore believes that there is of course a much larger carbon footprint when there are, for example, 20,000 participants who travel far to see the evening event in Schladming. Henrik Kristoffersen was furious after climate protesters entered the goal area, just before his Norwegian team-mate Alexander Steen Olsen was due to drive. – You can look at it that way too, but if there are 20,000 or 50,000 contributors, many of them are from a more local area, says McGrath. – It goes against the grain that he wants to make the sport more popular in the USA, because then people will come to travel to the USA too. So it is not a very solid argument. Eliasch became FIS president in 2021, but has long been a climate campaigner and has, among other things, founded his own organization that works for the preservation of the rainforest. CLIMATE ADVANCES: Johan Eliasch during a visit to the British government in 2008 where he spoke about preserving the rainforest. Photo: Max Nash / AP – It’s about saving people He is clear that climate is very important to him, also in his role as FIS’s top leader. – It is the biggest struggle for humans. It’s not about saving the planet. It’s about saving people, says Eliasch. McGrath at least sees it positively that you have a manager who is concerned with that part. – You have to trust FIS. We have to work together for this. There is no point in pointing fingers. Athletes, FIS, supporters and everyone have a big part in it, says the 23-year-old. Eliasch is clear that the race calendar must be optimized as best as possible, even if he has no concrete plans to change the travel business to the USA. – Sometimes it is difficult, but if we prioritize logistics, we can make an impact here, says Eliasch. McGrath – who was born in Vermont in the US – hopes for an even better calendar, but at the same time says he is satisfied with parts of it. This particularly applies to the gutter in Italy, which is the country he is in during the interview with news. On Friday, he will run the classic pre-Christmas race in Madonna di Campiglio. It will be the sixth race in Italy in the last eight days for the male alpine skiers. The eight races in the boot country this season will be completed with two more races in space Christmas. – It is approximately one hour to drive between the cities. No one has to fly. Everyone can travel by bus or drive together in a car. We try to limit the use at this time of the year, says McGrath before concluding: – Once you have to fly as far as the USA it becomes more difficult.
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Atle Lie McGrath against the FIS president – hoping for a change of heart – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
