World Ski Championship Hopeful Didn’t Want to Live: – When Does It End?

Indira Liseth (38) has already won the most critical gold medal: The joy of living

– I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this.

Her eyes glisten. Her voice cracks.

For years, the 38-year-old has hesitated to talk about anxiety, exclusion, eating disorders, and the shame tied to her own disability.

Now, the cross-country skier wipes away the tears rolling down her cheeks as she speaks about the importance of feeling included.

On her journey toward the biggest sporting celebration of the decade in Norway, Indira Liseth has already won the most critical gold medal: the joy of living.

Ahead of the historic FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on home soil, where para cross-country skiing is included in the official program for the first time, Liseth wants to share her story to help create a more inclusive society.

– I want a society where people with disabilities are given the necessary accommodations so that we can participate alongside able-bodied individuals. I should not always feel like I am different, she says as the tears stream down her face.

Taught to Steal

In the bustling city of Barranquilla, Colombia, she never felt different.

Together with the other children in the coastal city where she was born, she lived in the moment without concrete future prospects, eating fish lice from each other’s nets to satisfy their hunger.

– We were pretty poor and were taught to steal. I saw it as something fun. We were together, and we did it together. We lived day by day, she continues.

She was born with nerve damage in her back, causing her left foot to be almost paralyzed. She has always struggled with self-doubt, but in Colombia, she felt just like everyone else. However, she frequently noticed that her peers were being adopted.

– It took a few years before it was my turn to be adopted. I didn’t understand why my mother didn’t want me, and I had grown very attached to everyone around me in Colombia. It felt like a huge betrayal when I was adopted away.

– Later, I realized that it was just a temporary placement before adoption, and I wasn’t as attractive as the other children because of my disability.

At the age of six, she was adopted from Colombia, and the contrast to life in Norway was overwhelming.

– When I came to Norway, all the medical visits started, and I realized that something was ‘wrong’ with me,” she says, emphasizing the word “wrong” with air quotes.

All she wanted was to fit into this new, unfamiliar country. Instead, she felt ashamed of herself and found herself on the sidelines when, at the age of eight, she was diagnosed with spina bifida.

– When we had gym class, I was placed in a separate room with an assistant while the others were in the gymnasium.

Her voice breaks again.

– I found it difficult not being allowed to participate with the others and not being included, she says as tears flow again.

No Will to Live

To be included, she longed to be “normal.”

Determined not to use a wheelchair to avoid standing out, she lacked balance. She fell frequently and walked with the help of a brace on her left foot and crutches.

– Sometimes, I felt like people pitied me. I wanted to walk because I wanted to be as normal as possible and not have a disability. I didn’t want people to notice me.

But when she developed blood poisoning following surgery just before turning 20, she had no choice but to start using a wheelchair more regularly.

– I regret not using a wheelchair earlier. I limited myself a lot because I had low self-esteem. I spent so much energy and endured so much pain that could have been avoided.

In the years that followed, anxiety took over. An internal turmoil grew, and she isolated herself from the world.

She began partying to distract herself from the anxiety. For ten years, she battled anxiety, exclusion, and eating disorders and stubbornly denied her own disability.

– I was just waiting for….

Liseth takes a deep breath before continuing:

– Waiting for life to end, in a way?

– I wanted to change my life because I didn’t want to live. Everything in my mind was negative. Outwardly, I was the happiest person in the world, but that wasn’t how I felt inside.

A Turning Point

Then came salvation.

Sports.

At first, her eating disorder worsened when she started training, but eventually, she sought help from a psychologist. There, she felt seen, received treatment, and finally had space for long-awaited personal growth. At 29, she was introduced to cross-country skiing.

She didn’t like winter and had no idea there was a para-national team in cross-country skiing. Still, the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee invited her to a national team camp.

Her first impression was that it was cold and scary, but the sport quickly became her greatest joy in life and a crucial tool for her mental health.

– Sports have taught me to be happy with myself, challenge myself, and appreciate myself and my disability.

Now, she smiles.

At last, she feels a strong sense of accomplishment.

Ten years after being introduced to the sport, she prepares for the most significant moment of her career as para cross-country skiing is included in Trondheim’s official FIS Nordic World Ski Championships program.

A Call for Inclusion

Trondheim 2025 aims to promote diversity and a more inclusive ski sport. Diversity enriches sports and strengthens skiing, while different abilities inspire increased participation.

– Now, we are part of the celebration. I feel like we belong. There are no divisions between able-bodied and para-athletes. That, to me, is true inclusion.

With sponsors such as Scandic, SpareBank 1 SMN, Equinor, and Aker BP, Trondheim 2025 has secured significant prize money for para-athletes in the World Championships. This milestone brings para-sports one step closer to equality.

Liseth hopes this inclusion will boost the recruitment of young athletes and that the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships can contribute to societal change.

– People with disabilities would be more confident if society welcomed us differently. We need to remove the stigma and normalize disabilities.

Liseth, who became Norwegian champion at Gålå earlier this winter, has yet to win an international medal at the World Championships or Paralympics. Now, she hopes to break barriers in Trondheim.

– I find it scary to say this out loud, but winning a FIS Nordic World Ski Championship medal is one of my goals.

– I hope to become even more confident and believe in myself even more. And maybe the medal will come, too, she says with a smile.