It is this comment from Saltvedt – published on Saturday – that makes the mare set shake its head. In the post from news’s sports commentator, which is titled “Do you really want this, Maren?”, he expressed concerns before Lundby’s comeback in the World Cup circus this weekend. For over a year, the ski jumper has been fighting to get back to her “match weight”, and has been honest about the health challenges she has faced. The comment from Saltvedt causes Lundby to react. – I cannot say that I completely agree with what is presented. There was little insight into how we work, she says to news. IN COMPETITION: Lundby in the jumping hill. Here from February 2021. Photo: Raed Krishan / AP Responding to statements In the comment, Saltvedt problematizes, among other things, the health certificate scheme in show jumping, compared to Lundby’s way back to competition and stated challenges. He believes the certificate should exist as in cross-country and combined. The statements cause Lundby to stumble. – It is possible that we do not have a completely similar health certificate as cross-country and combined, but if there is someone who is followed up in that area, it is probably us. I would say that we are perhaps the team that has the closest follow-up by doctors and nutritionists. We are very well looked after and it is in no way like that that we will be left out of the World Cup, no matter what the situation is. Lundby is aware that they are followed up and tested often, despite the lack of a health certificate. Norwegian jumpers do not have a requirement for such a certificate. – If there is anyone who is on wild roads, they will be dealt with, she says. Saltvedt, for his part, believes that one has still not heard one significant argument for not being able to have health certificates also in jumping. ANSWERS: news’s commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt. Photo: ALEM ZEBIC / news – That the Norwegian national jumping team follows up its athletes as closely and well as both themselves and the Olympiatoppen describe should, more than anything else, be the best argument for also formalizing this job through such a certificate, he says. – A lot of mistakes But the reactions from Lundby do not stop there. In the comment, Saltvedt writes that “in the meantime, she had shown what was perhaps the actual normal version of herself (24) in Skal vi danse på TV 2.” She disagrees with that. – I also reacted to that by saying that my weight last year was my normal weight. That’s not right either. It was a reaction to what had happened. – There were a lot of mistakes, and that’s why I reacted strongly to it, she points out. – Disrespectfully, Lundby says that she has not spoken to Saltvedt, and claims that he has also not spoken to anyone in the community about the state of affairs. The ski jumper believes there is little cause for concern and calls the comment disrespectful. – I think it’s a bit boring and disrespectful that we get such an article about an important topic which is not true at all. – I am in no way pushing myself to lose weight now, she says in the interview with news. COURT: – That I should somehow lose weight or push myself to lose weight, that’s not right either. That’s why I’m standing here now and saying that I’m part of a process that’s slowly moving forward, says Lundby. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB The frustration is also supported by the mares’ sports manager Clas Brede Bråthen, whom news also met during the World Cup opening in Poland’s Wisla. He describes parts of the comment’s content as gross abuse and wants Saltvedt to retract it. – I am reacting to the fact that a normally very compliant commentator, for whom I have great respect, chooses to write about a topic that is quite sensitive for quite a few people without getting into it thoroughly. Bråthen believes that one should be much more thorough when gathering information and experience the words as stigmatizing. – He puts a sport in a bad light, because that is what I feel he is trying to do. It goes directly to a performer, who, in my opinion, has been very open and clear about some challenges. STATED: – There is nothing in the proposals or examples Saltvedt comes up with that would solve the situation that Maren ended up in, says Bråthen. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB – Concern for showjumping Saltvedt does not see Bråthen’s criticism, and responds as follows to the reprimand: – If he is going to call something an “over-tramp”, he should at least take the trouble to read through what I have written before he tries. Anything else is really disrespectful in such contexts. I would never consider defining an ideal weight for anyone, including Maren Lundby. It should be her exclusive privilege, he says and continues: – I mentioned something that “perhaps was a normal weight”, which is necessarily something completely different. And nothing but an assumption just as vague as what is actually written. I have much greater respect for Maren Lundby herself reacting to the wording. Saltvedt’s concern is general for showjumping and what challenges one has when it comes to weight pressure with the current regulations, he says. He adds that he has taken as his starting point Maren Lundby’s own account of this from last year – and her own statements about how demanding the road back is. – Therefore, I think most of all it is a shame that this cannot provide a new openness for a real discussion around these questions. – Of course, I have spoken to several relevant medical professionals about these questions. And just as obviously, there is a discussion that should involve both our best jumpers, who are the ones directly affected, and its management, he adds. Saltvedt will nevertheless give Bråthen the right in one important thing: – This is a sensitive topic. But the fear of touch that Bråthen encourages here, I thought Maren Lundby had managed to move us past once and for all. She has pushed the boundaries of openness like no one else has. And that should be embraced. Lundby made it to the final round in both competitions in his comeback on the international stage in Wisla.
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