Next round in the Norwegian Zoff
Ski jumping coach is allowed to return – but doesn’t want to
The Norwegian ski jumpers and their coach Alexander Stöckl are in a clinch. He hasn’t been out with them for weeks. Now he should have been allowed to return. But he didn’t want to.
Published: 29 minutes ago
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Has been listed as a Norwegian ski jumping coach for weeks: Alexander Stöckl.
In mid-February there was a crash in the Norwegian ski jumping team. In a joint letter to the association, the athletes called on their head coach Alexander Stöckl (50) to resign. The points of criticism at the time included Stöckl’s media management, with which he lost the athletes, and a lack of motivation. As a result, Stöckl stayed away from the team for weeks. Instead, assistant coach Magnus Brevig (40) was responsible for the athletes.
Now he should return as part of the Raw Air Tour (March 8th to 17th). “We offered Alex to be in Holmenkollen,” says ski jumper Johann André Forfang (28) to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK. The team is said to have decided that on Thursday. The coach doesn’t want to know anything about it. Instead, the trouble goes into the next round. Stöckl says that he wanted to fulfill his role as head coach, but that was not what he wanted. “They said I could come with you but not be responsible.” That’s why he asked for your understanding that he didn’t want to be there as a spectator. Because that would feel “very strange” to him.
What will happen next for Stöckl at the Norwegian association is still unclear. He has been in office since 2011 and still has a contract until 2026. As NRK reports, the athletes want a new coach for the coming season. Ski jumping boss Clas Brede Braathen (55) actually wanted to mediate between the coach and the athletes and resolve the dispute. But now he resigned from his position last Friday – and not after the season as originally planned. (bir)
