Ukaleq Slettemark, a 25-year-old biathlete from Greenland, is accustomed to the pressures of competing on the world stage as she aims to qualify for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. However, she faces an added layer of anxiety due to the comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding his desire to take over her country.
“It’s terrifying,” Slettemark stated during a conversation with The Associated Press from Ruhpolding, Germany, where she and her brother, Sondre, are participating in the biathlon World Cup. She described the emotional toll this situation has taken on her family, noting that her aunt struggles to sleep and her mother recently broke down in tears at the stadium due to fear regarding their home country.
The Slettemark siblings compete for Greenland in the World Cup, but they will represent Denmark at the Olympics if they manage to qualify, which will be determined next week. This arrangement arises because Greenland is not a sovereign nation with its own National Olympic Committee.
While Slettemark emphasizes her role as an athlete rather than a politician, she cannot disregard the implications of the threats from the U.S. She expressed concern about the distractions this situation presents in her training and competition efforts, highlighting the fear among her fellow countrymen about potentially needing to leave Greenland due to perceived safety issues.
“People are talking about maybe they have to leave Greenland because they feel it’s so unsafe,” Slettemark remarked. “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.”
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated his desire to take control of Greenland, stating on social media that the U.S. “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” His comments preceded a meeting involving U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and their Danish and Greenlandic counterparts.
Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, is part of NATO. Slettemark, who previously competed for Denmark in the 2022 Winter Olympics, was born in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Both of her parents are also athletes involved in biathlon; her father, Øystein Slettemark, participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and her mother, Uiloq, established the Greenland Biathlon Federation. The sport itself combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.
As she navigates this stressful moment, Slettemark finds that fellow athletes have been inquiring about her well-being. Despite the tension surrounding the issue, she remains friendly with U.S. athletes, stating, “I’m very good friends with the U.S. athletes. I think they’re all really nice people.”
Furthermore, Slettemark expressed a hope that Americans will advocate for putting an end to any plans regarding a Greenland takeover, drawing a parallel to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the country was banned from competing in the Olympics, and Slettemark noted that there have been sentiments within the biathlon community suggesting that the U.S. should face similar sanctions if it were to forcefully annex Greenland.
“I’ve definitely thought so myself, but we’re not at that stage right now because nothing has happened yet,” she reflected. “But if it were to happen, then I would also agree that that would be the right way to do it.”
Overall, the pressure from the looming political threats looms large in Slettemark's life as she strives to focus on her competitive goals.
