The Norwegian normal hill championships at Midtstuen above Oslo's Holmenkollen were missing a prominent name: Silje Opseth was not on the start list on Saturday, and her absence had not been announced beforehand. National team coach Jermund Lunder told Dagbladet only that the 27-year-old was out for "health reasons".
Lunder gave no further details, nor any indication of when Opseth might return. "No, I won't comment on that now," he said. Sports director Jan-Erik Aalbu referred questions to the national coach, and Opseth herself did not respond to the newspaper's enquiries.
A world record holder with 12 national titles
Opseth is one of the defining figures of Norwegian women's ski jumping. In 2024 she set a world record of 230.5 metres in Vikersund, and according to Dagbladet she has won 12 national championship titles. In April she was named in the seven-strong women's national team for the 2026/27 World Championship season, alongside Olympic champion Anna Odine Strøm and Eirin Maria Kvandal.
She has had health setbacks before: in early 2025 she was taken to hospital after a fall in Sapporo and subsequently needed surgery. Whether her current absence is connected to that remains unclear.
Women's event blown away
As it turned out, there was no women's title to contest. Poor weather had already pushed the competition back from Saturday to Sunday, but the wind at Midtstubakken was again too strong. The event was cancelled and will now be held in late January, either before or after the large hill championships at Granåsen in Trondheim. A planned team event for the regional associations was scrapped as well.
"The conditions were tricky and the coaches were clear. They don't want anything to happen before the World Cup starts," Aalbu told VG. Strøm backed the call: "It was the safest choice. It's about safety."
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The men did get their competition in on Saturday, though only over one round. According to Nordic Magazine, the wind reached up to eight metres per second at the take-off. Isak Andreas Langmo became Norwegian champion with 98 metres, ahead of Sindre Ulven Jørgensen, who had to settle for second despite jumping 101 metres, and Adrian Thon Gundersrud (94.5 metres).
For Langmo the title underlines his progress. The jumper from Rissa was added to the national team this spring and now trains alongside Marius Lindvik, Johann André Forfang, Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, Halvor Egner Granerud and Benjamin Østvold. Aalbu justified his selection at the time by pointing to "stable and strong performances at the highest international level".
On the women's side, the bigger open question is not the title but Opseth's return, for which the federation gave no timeframe. The normal hill crown will now only be decided in late January around the large hill championships at Granåsen, by which point the women's World Cup season will be well under way.
