Competition Season is NOT Over For Johaug, Kalla, Iversen etc

How do you reckon the Norwegians turn their stars of skiing into ” Stars. Period”?

Easy – by having them on television screens as much as possible. And when there is no snow – well, there’s always something else. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Therese Johaug, Emil Iversen and – hold it – Petter Northug himself are currently on Rhodes competing against Charlotte Kalla and Calle Halfvarsson.

Yep, on the Greek island of Rhodes.

Because that’s where Norway’s top broadcaster TV2 is currently filming an adventure show. Details are, predictably, kept under wraps but the show, named Landskampen, appears to be a cross between the Wipeout and the Fort Boyard.

With a distinct difference being that the show pits against each other not individuals, but two erstwhile competitors in skiing ( and biathlon!) : Norway and Sweden.

Says Håvard Solem, TV2 spokesman:

“…Landskampen differs from many other shows by the fact that we have managed to get athletes who still are active in our cast. In addition to tough competitions, we also get to know the athletes in depth by for example filming during the dinners they have together where they tell more about their careers and lives…”

The show is a brainchild of Anders Sæther, who was producing television series about Petter Northug and, more recently, a documentary about Therese Johaug.

Øyvind Mund, one of Norway’s top on-air talents, serves as a host. For the sake of comparison ( – if nothing else, that should give you an idea how big xcskiing is in Norway) : it’s like Carson Daly suddenly agreed to host your friendly off-season Nordic club’s raffle.

Of course, Landskampen is anything but: a production team of some 40 people is expected to spend full two weeks on Rhodes to get all filming done, from every possible angle.

And yes, they will finish in time for Petter Northug to fly to his personal event, Janteloppet this very Friday.

Landskampen’s Team Norway:

Petter Northug (33)
Therese Johaug (30)
Emil Iversen (27)
Tiril Eckhoff (28)

Landskampen’s Team Sweden:

Charlotte Kalla (31)
Calle Halfvarsson (30)
Sebastian Samuelsson (22)
Hanna Öberg (23)

all photos are courtesy of Tv2 Norway