The Norwegian skiers looked on top of their game at the Giant Slalom FIS Ski World Cup’s season opener recently. Competing in Solden, the Norwegian athletes reigned supreme as they claimed all the top three spots, sweeping the podium in a historic affair. The star performer for Norway was Alexander Steen Olsen. Claiming the topmost position in the race, the victory marked the second of his Alpine Ski World Cup triumphs. 

The 23-year-old Olsen won the Palisades Tahoe Slalom back in February 2023. He also boasts of a couple of all-in runs along with two Giant Slalom podium finishes, including the one at Solden. His recent victory was also special, as it made Olsen feature in the elite list of Norwegian skiers who have won the Solden Giant Slalom before. And there are just two more—Lucas Braathen in 2020 and Aksel Lund Svindal in 2007. 

Moving on, providing tough competition to his fellow countrymen, Henrik Kristoffersen and Atle Lie McGrath secured second and third places. Almost winning the top spot, Kristoffersen faltered at the fast end to lose by a tantalizing margin of +0.65 seconds. The 30-year-old had one of the best outings this time, having taken the podium on 34 different occasions in Giant Slalom competitions. 

Previously, Kristoffersen participated in the Solden tournament on nine occasions. His best result before 2024 was a third-place finish back in 2022. The 30-year-old also clinched three top-ten finishes in 2015 (sixth), 2016 (eighth), and 2020 (fifth). Lastly, for the third-placed McGrath, it was his 10th time standing on a Giant Slalom podium. At just 24, such high levels of success will surely do wonders for his career going forward.

Surprisingly, the top three were not the only skiers from Norway getting featured in the top 10 list. Lucas Braathen, who is a Norwegian turned Brazilian skier, took the fourth spot to make ‘The Land of Midnight Sun’ look as dominant as ever. Such a clean sweep is even more impactful from Norway, as they were without the services of their top skiers, Aleksander Kilde and Lucas Braathen. 

Norway FIS Ski World Cup misses the service of Aleksander Kilde and Lucas Braathen on its snowy slopes

32-year-old Aleksander Kilde is one of the go-to athletes for Norway in the recent past. Winning the 2019-20 overall World Cup title, the downhill specialist was Norway’s best bet for Solden. Suffering a crushing injury after an unfortunate downhill crash, Kilde had to put away his gear for a while. Thankfully, he did not suffer any broken bones, which made him confident about his Solden participation. 

Unfortunately, Kilde’s shoulder caught an infection that did not recover in time and hence he opted for antibiotics. Again, after being effective initially, the medication stopped working. With no other options left, Kilde resorted to a super-G specialist to have a couple of surgeries on his shoulder. But his woes were far from being over. Reeling from the devastating impact of the crash, a couple of his muscles were still not in the right place. Thus, with no other option left, Kilde had to wait for his recovery, giving up the possibility of competing in Solden. On the other hand, the story of Lucas Braathen is completely different.

Braathen was considered one of the future stars of Norwegian skiing. However, after notching up three third-place finishes at three different FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup venues, Braathen announced his retirement. While this certainly shocked the fans, they were in for more surprise. After merely five months of his retirement, Braathen announced his return, but this time he would be representing Brazil. 

With the skiing fans confused about the decision, Braathen explained his thinking. He wanted to be a representative of a country that was considered an ‘outcast’ in the sport. Braathen stated, “The fact that I am bringing the Brazilian flag to World Cup ski racing, a sport this amazing country has yet to be represented in, feels like a true representation of my mission of creating a difference.” Thus, missing the services of Kilden and Braathen back to back has been quite a challenge for Norway. But looking at their recent dominance, it seems that the country will not take much time to fill in the void with their talented pool of upcoming skiers.