Greenlandic siblings Sondre and Ukaleq Slettemark are competing in biathlon at the Winter Olympics under the Danish flag, a high-profile reminder of Greenland’s complicated status in international sport and the pride its athletes carry onto the world stage.
Although they hail from Greenland, the autonomous Arctic territory within the Kingdom of Denmark has not been recognized by the International Olympic Committee. As a result, Greenlandic athletes must represent Denmark at the Games. That arrangement puts the brother-and-sister team in the unusual position of racing for one flag while carrying the identity of another.
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The Slettemarks, both biathletes, are part of Team Denmark in an event that blends endurance and precision, combining cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. Their presence in the Olympic arena elevates Greenland’s visibility, even without formal IOC recognition, and spotlights how athletes from non-sovereign territories navigate elite competition.
Ukaleq Slettemark spoke to RTÉ News about her pride in representing Greenland. She also addressed questions about comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that raised the prospect of the United States acquiring Greenland — an idea that drew global attention and strong reactions in the Arctic nation. While the athletes line up for Denmark at the Games, Ukaleq underscored a Greenlandic identity rooted in place, language and community that extends beyond any national designation on a start list.
For athletes from Greenland, the path to the Olympics typically runs through Danish systems — from federation affiliation to selection — because the IOC requires recognition of a National Olympic Committee to field a separate team. Greenland maintains its own sporting federations and competes independently across some international arenas, but not at the Olympic level.
The Slettemarks’ story encapsulates that duality. They train and compete on behalf of Denmark while serving as some of the most prominent Greenlandic ambassadors in winter sport, carrying a sense of home that is distinct from the colors they wear on competition day. Their performances carry significance beyond results, offering a tangible link between a young generation of Greenlandic athletes and the global platform of the Winter Olympics.
The biathlon calendar places athletes under acute pressure — grueling ski loops punctuated by shooting bouts where a single missed target can alter a race. For Greenlanders watching from afar, each start by Sondre and Ukaleq is both a sporting milestone and a moment of visibility, a chance to see their own landscape and culture reflected in one of the Olympic movement’s most demanding disciplines.
Their Olympic appearances also revive a recurring conversation inside and outside Greenland: what Olympic eligibility means for places that are not fully sovereign but maintain strong national identities. While there is no immediate indication the IOC’s position will change for Greenland, the Slettemarks’ presence ensures the question won’t fade quietly.
For now, Sondre and Ukaleq Slettemark are focused on skis, targets and split seconds — and on representing, in the fullest sense, where they come from. The flag on their bib reads Denmark. The pride they carry with them, as Ukaleq told RTÉ News, is unmistakably Greenlandic.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
