Celebrating equal prize money

Published: 17. March 2024

By: Ingvil Snøfugl

Ida og Jarl
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The Ski World Championships in Trondheim will offer equal prize money for both men and women during the 2025 championship. Jarl Magnus Riiber and Gyda Westvold Hansen praise the event organizers and hope this will take gender equality in the right direction.

– I fully support that. These are the steps we must take to increase the popularity of our sport. The girls deserve the same as us when they put in the same effort. That’s how it should be, and that’s how it will be,” says Jarl Magnus Riiber.

Riiber has been the clear standout on the men’s side this season and has pocketed 528,000 kroner in prize money. Gyda Westvold Hansen, with 108,000 kroner, is the one listed with the highest prize money on the women’s side. The head of the World Championships would like to see a change in this regard in future championships.

Ida Marie Hagen has had her breakthrough this season and emerges as a favorite for the World Championships in Trondheim next year. Photo: Ski World Championships 2025/Erlend Bach

Jarl Magnus Riiber believes girls should earn as much as guys and thinks more equality will increase interest in the sport. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB

– We have the ambition that the WSC 2025 will be the most sustainable World Championships in Nordic disciplines ever, and an essential part of this is equal opportunities. The girls put in as much effort and perform at the same high level as the guys, so it’s only natural that they also earn as much,” says CEO Åge Skinstad.

Gyda Westvold Hansen and the rest of the women’s Nordic combined team are taking action following the IOC’s decision not to include women’s Nordic combined in the 2026 Olympics. The fight for equality is far from over. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB

The fight for equality has been challenging for both the women ski jumpers led by Maren Lundby and the women in Nordic combined. Gyda Westvold Hansen showed up with a drawn-on beard on her face during a competition at Beitostølen in 2022 when the IOC decided that women’s Nordic combined wouldn’t be an Olympic event in 2026. She is happy to receive support from the World Championships organization.

– I think it’s really great. We aim for equality just like the guys and work for equal opportunities,” says Gyda Westvold Hansen.