Kristine Stavås Skistad has spoken publicly for the first time about the formal complaint she filed this spring against her long-time coach, Lage Sofienlund. In an interview with Norwegian broadcaster TV 2, the 27-year-old, who took sprint silver at the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, described a relationship with the man who had coached her since she was 14. In her words, it was about "control, power, finances, physical proximity, sexual harassment and a mixing of roles" that left her unsure what she was allowed to say no to.
The night before the Trondheim sprint
Skistad points to the home World Championships in 2025 as one example. Before the sprint in which she went on to win silver, she says Sofienlund picked her up and took her to his hotel room for a mental preparation session. According to her account to TV 2, she lay in his arm while he stroked her. She says he later suggested a massage in bed, which she did not want.
It took her a long time to make sense of it. "I always believed I had an inexplicable and enormous respect for Lage. Looking back, I have realised that much of what I called respect was actually fear," Skistad said.
Money is also part of the complaint. TV 2 reports that Skistad paid Sofienlund for several roles at once: physical trainer, mental coach, communications adviser and manager. Documents seen by the broadcaster include an invoice for 35,000 kroner after a ski school event in 2025. It was issued without the club's knowledge and without a written agreement.
Ethics panel critical, case dropped
The Norwegian Ski Federation handled the case at two levels. According to TV 2, its ethics committee found the degree of physical proximity between coach and athlete clearly objectionable. It also concluded that Sofienlund had at least unconsciously exploited Skistad's naive approach to money. But the committee judged the risk of repetition to be low and recommended only moderate sanctions. In September the federation's Law and Prosecution Committee, which decides whether to bring a case, dropped it. Its chair, Lars Fause, said the panel had decided not to proceed after thorough work.
Sofienlund regards the matter as settled. He said the case had been thoroughly examined at two levels of the federation and by his employer, and that the committees made informed decisions after hearing both sides. "The matter is closed for my part," he said. According to TV 2, he received a written warning from his club, Konnerud IL, and now works there in an administrative role.
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So far Skistad has paid most of the price. Konnerud announced the coaching change on June 10 without telling her first. In September she left her childhood club and joined Mjøndalen. Konnerud's cross-country committee disputes her description of how it handled the complaint. After TV 2's report, however, the club told Dagbladet it would review the case again, saying the allegations of sexual harassment were new information.
Skistad questions what the rules are worth. "I wonder about the value of sport's ethical laws and guidelines when such a serious complaint has no consequences. How will others dare to report when nothing comes of it?"
The timing could hardly be worse for her season. TV 2 reports that the sprinter missed the Norwegian national team's October training programme. Her main target is the Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, which start in late February 2027.
