Jump legend Roger Ruud: – Tired and sad

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN (Dagbladet): Ruud said it at the beginning of Hoppuka: he thought Halvor Egner Granerud would win. And this happened on Friday night.

But now what?

The sport of jumping has come under attack from many quarters in recent years.

When Dagbladet meets Ruud for a chat in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, she doesn’t see gold and green forests.

The 64-year-old won nine World Cup races from 1980 to 1985, including the New Year’s Eve race.

– I’m tired of bad winters. The development is sad. There are bad and treacherous conditions on the slopes. There is little stability and constant cancellations, she says.

– But the future isn’t just about the weather. The interest is great, but we have too few jumpers. Recruiting is too bad. It works well and is taken care of. But it’s damn hard to get involved.

I had a shock

Ruud points out that Norway keeps the cuisine at an elite level. The question is what worse winters, less recruitment and ski slopes falling into disrepair do to the future.

To date, Hopp-Norge doesn’t even have a good enough bid for second-best athletes. In the past, this was called “the best sports investment”, but there is no money for it.

Success doesn’t come by itself. Germany was one of the nations that let Hoppuka down a lot. The best man was Andreas Wellinger in eleventh place, which was to cause a stir in Norway.

Ruud warns:

– Parents must act. They are the ones who will carry the bags, boys and girls, to the trampolines. I think something needs to be done for them. We may have thought the development was temporary. But we let it go a little too far. And it’s damn sad.

The hero of the 80s continues:

– This goes together with the decay of the slopes. Soon there will be no more offers. They say there’s no point in having runways when there are no jumpers. But you also don’t get sweaters without gradients. There is a little effort that needs to be made to keep the little hills going.

Brought to bed

– Do you think Norway keeps the cuisine at an elite level?

– Yes, you are the leaven.

In terms of sports, Norwegians are in a golden age. Last winter, Marius Lindvik won Olympic gold in big hill and world gold in ski flying. With Granerud’s victory in Hoppuka, Norway have won major trophies in recent years. When it comes to writing history books, that’s what matters.

Clas show jumping manager Brede Bråthen comments on Roger Ruud’s claims as follows:

– Recruiting is something you can’t get enough of. But we are a nation that is, after all, well recruited compared to the nations we compete with. We have trampolines available in many places. We have twice as many trampolines as the second best nation, which I think is Germany. And the construction park is relatively new.

Slaughtered

Brathen points out:

– There are enough of them who are worried. But being worried doesn’t help. We have quite a few people who do a great job with recruiting. We do our best to appreciate them.

– Where will Norwegian show jumping be in 10, 15, 20 years?

– There are many things that come into play. We have rarely seen a better starting point in many areas. And then we depend on renewing ourselves in other areas, for example among fanatics and volunteers. In 15 years they will be 15 years older. Many of them are primarily old, says Bråthen.

It was said: – Relax

Already from Sunday several fanatics will be in action. Then there is the big NM hill in Rena.

Everyone who took part in Hoppuka will take part in the NM, confirms national coach Alexander Stöckl.

– I think it looks scary for Norwegian show jumping. But fortunately, it is picked up all over the country. We just have to roll up our sleeves and hope for the best, says Roger Ruud.