He was impatient. Wanted home. Olympic silver medalist Eivind Henriksen had just undergone heart surgery. Everything had gone as planned. Now he was just waiting to be discharged by the doctor one September last year. – Then I suddenly feel that the vision on the left side is starting to disappear, says Eivind. He raises his left arm. Showing where he couldn’t see anymore. Fear ran through his mind. “Am I going blind? Am I going to pass out here?”. Eivind Henriksen Born: 14 September 1990. From: Oslo. Took Olympic silver in the hammer throw in 2021. Followed up with bronze in both the WC and EC last year. Holds the Norwegian record in the hammer throw with a throw of 81.58 meters in the Olympic final in 2021. A total of 14 NM golds – 13 in the hammer and one in the shot put. A tough winter – There have been a few speed bumps here and there, he says. Knowing about a roommate who fell ill, the wedding day that went down the drain and a higher heart rate after the heart operation. In addition to the side view then. And the knee surgery. The fourth. Which will put him out of training. A little longer than first thought. He is well underway with charging for the new season. There are minus degrees in the air. Cloudy. The morning light hits the training room at the Olympiatoppen in Oslo. April is approaching. Two layers of knee pads. He has operated on his knees four times. Twice on each side. Photo: Camilla Alexandra Lie / news – Must be like that with those knees there. He points down with his eyes. 200 kg must be lifted. In addition to the barbell of 25 kg. The scales are secured. The belt is tightened. 225 kg is on the shoulders. The knees get to drive themselves. As usual. Down. Up. Twice. – It’s an easy day. Eivind smiles. He knows it is hard for most others. Today he only takes six sets of two repetitions. But it’s not just the barbell he’s had on his shoulders. Side vision that disappears Back at the hospital, uncertainty spreads for Henriksen. – It’s starting to become rainbow colored and unclear, he continues about the side vision in his left eye. He goes out to one of the nurses and asks if it is normal to struggle with vision after a heart operation. Henriksen had problems with his side vision after the operation. Photo: Camilla Alexandra Lie / Camilla Alexandra Lie The reaction from the nurse was not to be misunderstood. Nor the message he received. – Go back and lie down. I’ll call the doctor, said the nurse. Now things happened quickly. The hospital feared brain bleeding and blood clots. There was no time to lose. Thoughts began to swirl in his head. – You start to wonder what this could be, he says. The doctor came into the room. Instead of being sent home, Eivind was sent straight to a head scan. Over the next few days, he had several instances where he lost his side vision. At the same time he had a severe headache. Eivind Henriksen after heart surgery at Rikshospitalet. Photo: Private CT of the head showed nothing serious. It was most likely a migraine attack with aura, an extreme headache that can cause short-term vision loss. The hospital stay was still longer than he had imagined. He who just wanted to go home. After the heart surgery. And planning the wedding on 1 October with his beloved Lena Marie. A wedding that came to nothing. Instead, he became a home nurse. For the roommate. Canceled wedding and home nurse “We will rock you” by Queen echoes beyond the sound system at Olympiatoppen. A song about unattainable ambitions. About resistance that is not handled. The exact opposite of the sledgehammer from Oslo. Henriksen does heavy lifting. Both in the gym and at home. Photo: Camilla Alexandra Lie / news The national alpine team trains next to Henriksen. They chat a little between sessions. He has taken off his knee pads. Changed shoes. Now he will do deadlifts. 150 kg is on the floor. It should go up. Looking in the mirror. Takes a good grip around the barbell. Jerk. Let go. It hits the floor. Sits down on a bench in the corner. Relax between each repetition. – He is not very effective, it comes from the sidelines. There is light humor among the performers. – I have never been so efficient, says Eivind and laughs back. Laughter turns to seriousness when he talks about his roommate. – We had plans to get married on 1 October. We just had to cancel that. It had not worked. Eivind Henriksen with his partner Lena Marie Hansen and son Emil. Photo: Privat She had not been able to stand upright that day. At the end of September, they found out that she was pregnant. Five days before the wedding, she was so ill that she just lay in bed. The next two months were challenging for the family. The roommate, Lena Marie, was unable to get any nourishment. She just threw up. It was in and out of hospital. – They were very clear that this was nothing dangerous for the child, because the child takes what it should or needs. It was worst for my roommate, who couldn’t eat and kept losing weight. Eivind breathes deeply. – It was certainly the toughest for her. The hospital stays were a strain. She wanted to be home. Even when it was at its worst. – It’s not exactly the coolest place to be when you’re sick, are in a room with 90-year-old ladies and share a bathroom with them. She would rather have fluids intravenously at home. Henriksen received training in setting venflon. Photo: Camilla Alexandra Lie / news Then the sledgehammer needed training. In putting venflon. On his own partner. He likes to talk about this. He had a dream to become an ambulance driver a few years ago. Now he was allowed to be a home nurse. – It is a needle that can be inserted into a vein, anywhere on the arm. Then you fasten that needle, connect some hoses and suspend the liquid a little high. Then it drips for a couple of hours. The roommate is a doctor himself and together with some doctor friends they bought equipment to add fluids intravenously. He tells with passion. – You try to get into the veins. It’s not that easy. At least not on a girl who is quite dehydrated. The veins are not very visible. He pulls out his arm. Pointing. – Then you first insert the needle at a 45 degree angle. Then you have to straighten it up a bit. Important not to poke through or miss. The hose is then pushed in. Eivind shows it with a finger and pushes it forward. – Did you hit on the first try? He has a good laugh. – No I did not do that. – I probably had six attempts. And then you can’t stick in the same place, so you have to find new places. – In the end, I had to go where it’s easiest. And it’s inside the elbow. – And it went well? – It went well. Eivind Henriksen with his partner Lena Marie Hansen and son Emil. Photo: Private picture The time leading up to Christmas was tough. The roommate had to be alone a lot. Alone lying in a dark room. Eivind also had to look after his son Emil. Delivery and pick-up at kindergarten. Arrange food. Sometimes he had to sit outside on the terrace to eat. In the cold. The roommate could not stand the smell of food. – It’s not just about me anymore. It’s going very well. I think we solve it very well. You can see it in him. Family means a lot. Things are going better with the partner and the pregnancy. Still a bit tired, but brighter times and the due date in May are approaching. Just in time for the start of the season. If he makes it himself then. – My partner is very supportive of me following my dream and investing. He has Olympic silver, WC bronze and EC bronze. There is a new WC this summer. Eivind Henriksen has six series with two repetitions of 225 kg. Photo: Camilla Alexandra Lie / news Knees to trouble The clock is approaching half past twelve. Henriksen has been at the Olympiatoppen since ten. The training session is finished. Sweaty and a little out of breath. Puts on the official national team jersey. Three pairs of shoes are placed in the bag. The belt too. He checks his mobile phone. – “Oil change service” in the knee. Eivind laughs well. Got used to minor injuries. Now he will have surgery. Just a small intervention. A bone chip to be removed. This time it’s a little more serious. He just doesn’t know it. – I suddenly found some pain in a different place than where I have had pain before. Then I decided to cut open the skin, and remove what is most likely a small chip of bone that is irritating a little. He has been told that he must rest for two weeks. The charging until the start of the season will go as planned. A message ticks in the day after the operation. “Hello, the service was a little bigger than planned. Wasn’t just something that had to come out, but something that had to be fixed as well. So it’s out a little longer.” He attaches a smiley face with sunglasses. The humor is there. Despite opposition, he does not give up. The ambitions are there. Both at home and on the sports field. Now it’s just a race against the clock to make it to the start of the season in the Trond Mohn Games on 3 June. Later this year, the WC awaits in Budapest from 19 to 27 August.
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Eivind Henriksen about the tough year – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
