Svindal gets new coaching job:

Even though I have had a lot of contact with the national team, a lot has happened since I rode myself. It is starting to be a few years since, says Svindal to NRK. Svindal is the most successful Norwegian alpine skier in the world cup throughout history, with a total of 36 victories. In addition, he has two Olympic golds and five World Championship golds. He retired after the World Championships in Åre in 2019. Now the 43-year-old is making a "comeback" in the Norwegian national team – this time as a coach. – It's incredible! Aksel is an enormous figure in Norwegian alpine sports who has won more than anyone else. He has a lot to add to the team, so we can just look forward to it, says NRK's alpine expert Lars Elton Myhre. A clear request from athletes and coaches in the technique team earlier this year gave Svindal even more leeway, after many years of dialogue with the association. – They were a little more concrete than I have heard before, so then I thought it sounded exciting, says Svindal. – I have been on such a team for many years, so a little experience is surely not so bad. How he uses the experience remains to be seen. – Not worried. In the Olympic season last year, he gained good coaching experience when he was one of the coaches for Lindsey Vonn. After they ended the collaboration in April 2026, he could then look back on seven podium finishes in Vonn's comeback years. – The whole project was impressive. Now we all know how it ended in the Olympics, but Lindsey came back and became the best in the world again. There was a whole team behind it, but Aksel was undoubtedly an important piece, says Myhre. But exactly what Svindal's role will be in the Norwegian team, besides entering as a coach, is still something uncertain. The only thing he knows is that the opportunity had to be seized. – Things were very little planned, I have to say – or, it sounds a little untrue, but there were some decisions that were not made. And then my conclusion was that the only decision I am sure about is that it is better to travel to Austria now than to sit in Oslo, says Svindal. For right now he is in Sölden, where the athletes for the weekend will start the season. He will not travel as much as before, but felt that it was now practical to say yes to the new job. – It is the coaches who are here all the time, they are the important ones. But if I can have some knowledge of both the athletes and the coaches and how things work so that I can be with and contribute a little, then I think it is a bit fun, says he. The rest he thinks will work out. – What we have to find out, practically and regarding logistics and things, we can take along, but at least it is a good start to come down here and be there where it happens. I am not worried about that, says Svindal. – This is an opportunity, and we must try to seize that opportunity in the best way possible, and then we will see what comes of it. I think it is a good approach to have a little... Not relaxed, but to see it as an opportunity and not something that must be one way or the other, but rather an opportunity to try to be a little there where perhaps the contribution can work best. At first, he will work most towards the technique team, meaning the slalom and giant slalom racers. Svindal also feels strongly for Kilde, who injured himself in practice the week before: – Received a message to stop. But not everything is as it was in the national team. It is starting to be a few years since he was there last. – It is very different. Atle (Lie McGrath) is the only one I know that I know a little bit. I have been well with the others, but I don't know them properly. There is a big difference in the dynamic in that regard, says he. – It is strange, but now most of the coaches are younger than I am, so there is a change there too. Even though there are many new faces, he has been well received. From the very first day, one of the current biggest stars on the team, Atle Lie McGrath, took the initiative to gather the group with Svindal. – Atle took the initiative for a meeting on the first day. It was just a quick intro, but it lasted until we were told to stop and we had to go to a meeting with the coaches, says Svindal. 20 minutes turned into an hour, and Svindal got a good start with the national team – with both known and unknown faces. – Good dynamic and no one sitting and watching on the floor. There were good discussions, so it was a cool start, says he. The sports director for alpine skiers Claus Ryste is also satisfied with the recruitment. – I think it will be very good. Aksel is strong analytically, he has shown it as an athlete and as a coach for Lindsey (Vonn). Both with the experience he has as an absolute top athlete and now some coaching experience, I think it will be very good in our team. Very glad that we have managed it. The engagement and enthusiasm from the active to now, and that he comes in and contributes to the new generation, is something we appreciate, says Ryste to NRK.