After the Norway dispute

Stöckl demoralized: “I lost a lot of weight”

Alexander Stöckl looks back on a difficult year.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Alexander Stöckl has looked back on the dispute with the Norwegian ski jumping team that raged for weeks and months. The situation took its toll on him. The effects were felt both mentally and physically. 

"It was exhausting, but we have reached an agreement that we are both happy with," Stöckl told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, drawing an official line under the chapter. After 13 years, Stöckl and the Norwegian Ski Association agreed to part ways in May.

However, the separation was by no means silent. There was already a scandal during the current season. Several Norwegian ski jumpers criticized the long-time coach in a letter to the Ski Jumping Committee. Stöckl subsequently stopped accompanying his team to competitions. 

Mistakes on both sides
The Austrian regrets that it was no longer possible to repair the rift with the team. However, he had learned a lot, both good and bad. "That you have to keep developing, quite simply. You can never stand still," says the 50-year-old.

According to Stöckl, there have certainly been mistakes on both sides. "I have developed in a direction that was perhaps not quite ideal for others. Or I did things that I felt were important, but which others didn't see as part of the role of the main character," admits the Tyrolean. However, he acted with the best of intentions: "I tried to ensure that we could be successful."

However, the situation put him under a lot of strain. Mentally, it was a constant strain. But the tension also manifested itself physically. "Physically, I lost a lot of weight. I had almost reached the competition weight of a ski jumper." So it's good to be able to draw a line under it now. Stöckl is now Head of Sport for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined in Poland.