– I am very proud of that, she says of the approved certificate. The Gjøvik runner has only participated in three World Cup races in the last two seasons. She had to sit out both the World Ski Championships last year and the Olympics earlier this year due to her health situation, but was able to smile for an approved health certificate on Monday. – Roughly speaking, there has been too much on and off, in terms of going skiing and taking part in gatherings. It’s been really tough, but I’ve been training well all the time and really had a good time. There has been a “piece” of me that has been missing, but I have had very good people around me. I’ve been fine apart from that. If I hadn’t had it, it would have been much more difficult, she says of the past three years. Flugstad Østberg has previously not wanted to say much about what is behind the health problems, but says that they have been working on “several points” for a long time. – It is a complex picture. It can be concrete things that people can relate to, such as gaining weight. That’s one thing. Then there are other measurements such as blood tests and body composition, which are more difficult to describe, she says. All runners who will represent Norway internationally, such as the World Cup and Scandinavian Cup, must have an approved health certificate. Watch the recording of the press conference here: – The decision was made last week, but the final signing of the health certificate was made as late as today. I was very happy. I was nervous, I won’t say anything else. – I’ve been through a bit. I wasn’t sure how things would go, even though I knew myself that I had managed to reverse a trend that wasn’t necessarily so good, says Flugstad Østberg. – It has been a job every day, which I am very happy that I have been able to do, she says. The Norwegian cross-country skiing season starts at Beitostølen on 18 November, with the World Cup starting in Finnish Ruka on 25 November. – I have low performance goals at Beitostølen, but should things go well later in the season, I have high goals and demands for myself. – There has been very little skiing for me in the last two or three years. Fortunately, I have gone a few before, but exactly where my level is at its best now, I think it is a bit difficult to say. I hope it can be good eventually, says the 31-year-old. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg has had her health certificate approved and has been back on the ski slopes since November 2019. Aiming for the WC Flugstad Østberg says she will be surprised if she goes very fast on Beitostølen. As a runner outside the national team, she is prepared to do well to have a chance at the World Cup during the season. – I’m not going to do all the skiing. I will try to be as selective as possible, she says. When asked if it might be appropriate to go on the Tour de Ski, she admits that it is not necessarily the best solution. – It is the WC that I have as the biggest goal and the main goal. If you get the opportunity to go there (Tour de Ski) to show off with a view to the WC, then it is something different than if it is a little more optional. The WC is a bit later than the Olympics, so there are more opportunities to show off both before and after Christmas, she says. Ski WC in Planica starts on 21 February and ends on 5 March. Was denied a start in 2019 Flugstad Østberg won both the Tour de Ski and the World Cup in the 2018/19 season, and also won medals in all five exercises she did during the WC in Seefeld in the same season. Before the national opening race at Beitostølen in the 2019/20 season, the message came that she had not received an approved health certificate. As a result, Flugstad Østberg was denied a start at the start of the season. A few weeks later, she got the go-ahead to go on the Tour de Ski, which started in Space Christmas. Flugstad Østberg won one stage and came third overall behind Therese Johaug and Natalja Neprjajeva. STAGE WIN: Flugstad Østberg sprinted past Therese Johaug in the battle for the stage win at the start of the hunt in Toblach in the Tour de Ski 2019/20. It is also the last individual victory she has internationally. In total, she has 17 World Cup victories. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB The season came to a somewhat abrupt end. Both because of the outbreak of the coronavirus in the world, but Flugstad Østberg was also unable to run what turned out to be the last race of the season in Holmenkollen due to a fatigue fracture in the heel. In the summer of 2020, she suffered another fatigue fracture in her heel. Just before the start of the 20/21 season, it became known that she had not received an approved health certificate and had to sit out the entire ski season. Had to sit through the Olympics In the Olympic season last winter, she got an approved health certificate before the season. For the first time in over a year and a half, she competed in the World Cup when she went 10 kilometers classic on the opening weekend in Ruka, where she finished 33rd. WAS BACK LAST YEAR: Ingvild Flugstad Østberg took part in three races last season. Here from 10 kilometers classic in Ruka. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB Flugstad Østberg also walked 10 kilometers on the next two World Cup weekends and was number 14 in Lillehammer and eighth in Davos. Furthermore, according to the plan, she was going to do the Tour de Ski, but in Christmas Eve the message came that she had to sit out both the Tour de Ski and the Olympics. Since then, she hasn’t gone to any ski races either. Before the 2022/23 season, she lost her place on the national team. Until this winter, she has invested outside the national team, with Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass as coach.
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