Norwegian skiing legend Aksel Lund Svindal has officially joined the coaching roster of the national team. Svindal, the most recent Norwegian athlete to secure Olympic gold in alpine skiing in 2018, revealed his acceptance of a part-time coaching role after team members approached him with the opportunity.
The 43-year-old Svindal, who retired from competitive skiing in 2019 due to persistent knee problems, expressed his excitement about the proposition from the current team members. Despite undergoing surgery in 2022 for testicular cancer, Svindal was part of Lindsey Vonn’s coaching team leading up to the recent Winter Olympics.
Renowned for his remarkable achievements at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, where he clinched gold in the super-G event, silver in the downhill, and bronze in the giant slalom, Svindal continued his success by securing gold in downhill at the Pyeongchang Games eight years later. Additionally, he boasts five gold medals from world championships and has claimed the overall World Cup title twice – in 2007 and 2009.
Following Norway’s modest medal tally of two – a silver and a bronze – in alpine skiing at the Milan-Cortina Olympics this year, Claus Ryste, the sports director for Norway’s Alpine skiing team, emphasized the continuous efforts of the dedicated group of athletes and coaches to evolve further.
Acknowledging Svindal’s wealth of experience in elite sports, Ryste expressed confidence in Svindal’s ability to provide valuable insights for the team’s development at the highest level. Svindal has already joined the team at a pre-camp ahead of the World Cup racing season in Sölden and is set to contribute periodically throughout the season.
Notably absent from the current camp is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon during a preseason downhill training mishap in Chile. Svindal reaffirmed his belief in the coaching program and expressed his eagerness to make multifaceted contributions, despite not being present with the team every week.
