After more than a year and a half, Maren Lundby is making her comeback in the Ski Jumping World Cup this weekend. During her last training session before starting in Wisla, the three-time overall World Cup winner from Norway was in a good mood. That was unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
At the beginning of September, Lundby called the Norwegian national coach Christian Meyer. The 28-year-old poured out her heart to him at the time, as she herself did in an interview with the Norwegian broadcaster “TV2” confessed.
“It’s a bit like you have to take day by day. You can’t think too far ahead. I think that was important. But I had a lot of doubts,” she revealed.
“There were a few tears, that’s not surprising. But at the same time, Maren is very good at picking herself up and good at seeing solutions,” confirmed Meyer.
Ski jumping ace Maren Lundby gained 14 kilos
Physical problems had kept Lundby away from the ski jump for the past year and a half. In the book “A conversation with Maren Lundby”, the overall World Cup winner of the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons revealed that she has gained 14 kilos in the meantime.
According to her own statements – to put it simply – her body had stopped burning energy. With a heavy heart, Lundby also had to cancel her participation in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in the spring.
“Ski jumping demands a lot from you. And one of those things is the weight to watch out for. My body has been changing naturally lately, so I don’t want to sacrifice everything just to be on top in Beijing level,” said the top athlete at the beginning of the year in tears: “It’s very difficult because I really want to jump. But this season it’s just not possible.”
“It was a shocking experience when we found out about the problems,” said Meyer: “We had an upswing and hoped to have found a solution. Then it suddenly stopped again. If someone in a short time maybe 60 to 70 heights and depths, then we must do everything we can to help.”