01/14/26 03:23:00
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01/14 15:22 CST Greenland biathlete pursues Olympic dream while anxious about
'terrifying' threats to her homeland
Greenland biathlete pursues Olympic dream while anxious about 'terrifying'
threats to her homeland
By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press
Ukaleq Slettemark is used to the stress of competing on the world stage as she
tries to qualify for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. But the 25-year-old
biathlete from Greenland is facing an extra level of anxiety as U.S. President
Donald Trump keeps saying he wants to take over her country.
"It's terrifying," Slettemark told The Associated Press on Wednesday from
Ruhpolding, Germany, where she and her brother, Sondre, are competing in the
biathlon World Cup. "We are imagining the worst-case scenario and my aunt is
having trouble sleeping at night. My mom, yesterday, she broke down at the
stadium crying because she's so afraid."
The Slettemark siblings compete for Greenland in the World Cup, but if they
qualify for the Olympics --- they will find out next week --- they will
represent Denmark, because Greenland is not a sovereign nation with its own
national Olympic committee.
While stressing that she is an athlete, not politician, Slettemark said the
threats from the U.S. are impossible to ignore. It's taking an extra effort to
focus on training and competitions as she worries about what's happening back
at home.
"People are talking about maybe they have to leave Greenland because they feel
it's so unsafe," she said. "So we are terrified and we are really angry because
this is not how you talk to another country, this is not how you talk to your
allies. And we feel so disrespected and very scared."
Trump reiterated his intention to take over Greenland on Wednesday, saying on
social media that the U.S. "needs Greenland for the purpose of National
Security." His post came ahead of a meeting between Vice President JD Vance and
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen
and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt.
Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally.
Slettemark, who competed for Denmark in the 2022 Winter Olympics, was born in
Nuuk, Greenland's capital. Both her parents are biathletes: her father, ystein
Slettemark, competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in biathlon and her mother,
Uiloq, founded the Greenland Biathlon Federation. The sport combines
cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.
The U.S. threats follow her every day as other athletes ask how she is holding
up. Slettemark said she has no hard feelings against the members of the U.S.
team.
"I'm very good friends with the U.S. athletes," she said. "I think they're all
really nice people."
Slettemark said she hopes Americans will pressure Congress to put a stop to the
Greenland takeover plan, which she likened to Russian President Vladimir
Putin's aggression in Ukraine.
Russia was banned from competing in the Olympics after the 2022 invasion of
Ukraine --- and Slettemark said she's overheard people on the biathlon circuit
say the same should happen to the U.S. if it forcefully took over Greenland.
"I've definitely thought so myself, but we're not at that stage right now,
because nothing has happened yet," she said. "But if it were to happen, then I
would also agree that that would be the right way to do it."
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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