Sondre Slettemark, left, and sister Ukaleq Astri Slettemark, of Greenland can’t display or carry Greenland flags when they compete in the Olympic biathlon next month in Italy.Jasmin Walter/Getty Images
When Ukaleq Slettemark and her brother Sondre line up for the start of the Olympic biathlon next month in Italy, they’ll be wearing specially designed racing suits that will subtly reveal their true identity as Greenlanders.
Because Greenland is a self-governing part of Denmark, the siblings officially compete under the Danish flag and Olympic rules forbid them from wearing any insignia from their homeland. But they have been allowed to wear their own racing suits, which are decorated with Inuit designs including eagle claws, a raven, a Northern Lights pattern and traditional tattoo markings known as tunniit.
“The suits will be a strong symbol and everyone will know that we are from Greenland,” Ukaleq said in a recent interview from Germany, where she and Sondre competed in final qualifying races. Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifleshooting.
While she and her brother can’t display or even carry Greenland flags, she’s hoping that fans might oblige. “I know that there’s at least one person who said he will come with a big Greenlandic flag,” she said with a smile.
Ukaleq Astri Slettemark of Greenland competes during the IBU World Cup Biathlon in Hochfilzen, Austria on Dec. 12, 2025. She says Trump's obsession with her Arctic homeland is 'all we talk about.'Jasmin Walter/Getty Images
Wearing the outfits, which the siblings designed, has taken on extra significance for the Slettemarks given Donald Trump’s obsession with taking over Greenland.
The U.S. President has backed off threats to use military force, but he remains determined to acquire the island of 57,000 inhabitants. He recently announced that a deal is being worked out that could give the U.S. sovereignty over parts of Greenland and greater access to its minerals. But Danish and Greenlandic leaders have made it clear that sovereignty is not up for negotiation.
“It’s all we talk about. We discuss this every day and we follow the news almost minute by minute,” said Ukaleq, who is 24. “I’ve grown up in the world’s most beautiful country, with the most beautiful nature, and we take care of each other, we take care of our nature. And I’m worried that’s going to change.”
Sondre, 21, said he can’t understand Mr. Trump’s intransigence. “It’s very frustrating having to deal with a person that doesn’t listen to reason, but also happens to be the most powerful man in the world,” he said. “When you’re dealing with that kind of person, you get angry and you get sad.”
Sondre Slettemark races on the slopes of the IBU World Cup Biathlon in Hochfilzen, Austria las month.Jasmin Walter/Getty Images
The pair have been drawing support from fellow athletes on the World Cup circuit, including many Americans. “It’s important for us, for our mental health, to remember that we have friends all around us,” Sondre said.
The Slettemark family is well-known in Greenland and they are among the island’s most decorated athletes.
Ukaleq also competed at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and their father, Oystein, represented Denmark in the biathlon at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Their mother, Uiloq, founded the Greenland Biathlon Federation and spent years competing in World Cup races and at the World Championships in 2012.
“The first four years of my life I was more in Europe than I was in Greenland, because I was with them for World Cups,” Ukaleq said.
She and her brother grew up in Nuuk playing a variety of sports and hunting.
Ukaleq got her first taste of biathlon as a teenager during a visit to Norway, her father’s homeland. Her breakthrough came in 2016 when Greenland hosted the Arctic Winter Games. The island didn’t have enough entries in the biathlon so Ukaleq, who was 15, was invited to compete. She won every race.
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The family eventually moved to Norway where Ukaleq and her brother attended an elite sports school. She won gold at the Youth World Championships in 2019, becoming the first Greenlander to win a medal at a major biathlon competition, and took part in her first World Cup race a year later. Sondre made his World Cup debut in 2023 and the two have competed in mixed races.
Concentrating on the Olympics hasn’t been easy given all the tension back home and the daily threats from Mr. Trump. Their parents have been with them for most of the World Cup races and everyone has been on edge, feeling a roller coaster of emotions.
“The reality is kind of hitting that no matter what’s going to happen, things are going to change, and there’s no coming back from that,” Ukaleq said. So, yeah, it’s uncertain times.”
They’d love to compete for an independent Greenland one day, but both believe sovereignty should not be the priority right now. Ukaleq said Mr. Trump is exploiting talk of independence to push his agenda.
“He’s taking advantage of that and using it as a good reason to invade us and to save us from Denmark,” she said. “Of course, every athlete wants to represent their own country at the Olympics. But we just have to be so tactical about it, because he’s taking advantage of us.”
Sondre added that Greenlanders “know who we are. We know what we stand for. We know that we’re our own country.”