– It’s really about the fact that I don’t have the capacity, I simply don’t have the time to continue, she says to news. Jacobsen confirmed the decision to VG earlier Thursday. There has been a storm around Jacobsen in recent months, after it emerged in January that she had advocated a discussion about a return for Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutral athletes in sports. – Yes, it has contributed, says Jacobsen at the beginning of whether the noise has played a role in her decision. She elaborates that it is the total that makes her say stop. – I have to contribute to more bodies and in more investigative work. In addition, I have tried to attend all sports board meetings, of which there have been more and more. All my free time and holidays have gone into this, she says and continues: – I can no longer defend the time that goes into this. I have to stay afloat, and then running for re-election for four new years is a bad starting point. – Have been asked completely legitimate questions Jacobsen has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2021, where she currently sits on several committees, including the athlete committee. – It is the only logical consequence of all the noise that has been throughout the winter, says news’s sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt. – Completely legitimate questions have been asked about how she has performed her role. The only way to end the discussion is for her to no longer be leader, he continues. He believes that the roles of IOC member and head of the athletes’ committee should not be combined. As an IOC member, you are basically obliged to be loyal to the IOC’s interests. – An IOC member should not lead the Norwegian athletes’ committee and should not be the athletes’ representative in the sports board to avoid loyalty discussions. Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen eventually realized that herself too. That makes sense, says Saltvedt. He continues: – The positive thing about Jacobsen’s dual role has been that our top athletes have been made aware of the importance of their own committee in a way that they have obviously not been able to do until now. – But her behavior in IOC contexts has led to too many questions about her loyalty and underlying intentions for her to remain in office, says Saltvedt. news COMMENTATOR: Jan Petter Saltvedt. Photo: Alem Zebic Jacobsen herself is clear that she does not think it has been difficult to combine the role of IOC member and the role of leader of the Norwegian athletes’ committee. – The IOC has, with its hand on its heart, been most interested in what we mean in Norway and has been open to sharing knowledge and information. It has been my advantage in that role, that I have access to those resources and get answers when I wonder about something. I still haven’t been told to say or mean anything. It has been more a question of what you think (in Norway), but with an expectation that you are willing to listen to other people’s opinions as well, she says. Continuing as a member Jacobsen will continue as a member of the performance committee. It comes from the statutes which state that Norwegian members of the IOC’s athletes’ committee automatically have a seat on the Norwegian athletes’ committee. In front of VG, she further points to the decision of the Norwegian sports board on 24 April, where new statutes for the athletes’ committee were adopted. While previous statutes said: “Where a Norwegian athlete meets in the Sports Board pursuant to the IOC’s charter, this representative fills the athletes’ committee’s place in the Sports Board”, the new statutes state that it is the athletes’ committee that appoints a representative to the Sports Board. The IOC Charter states that all IOC members of a nation must be represented on the Board of the National Olympic Committee. In Norway, it is part of the Swedish Sports Confederation, whose full name is Norwegian Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Jacobsen was elected leader of the Norwegian athletes’ committee in 2019. – I have invested a lot in it, and it has become a body that is bigger and more important than ever. This means that there is more and more work that comes with it. It may be surprising to some, but it is a body that has no administrative support. We have a secretary, but everything else has to be done by the leader and the members, she says. Met with strong criticism On behalf of the Norwegian athletes’ committee, Jacobsen was among those who spoke during a meeting with the IOC earlier in January. There she said, among other things: “In our view, non-discrimination is inevitable. Our mission is to continue to be a unifying force, and that should remain our focus. This means that no athlete should be excluded on the basis of their passport”. A few days later, the IOC came out and claimed that the vast majority of international athlete representatives wanted a return for Russian and Belarusian athletes. Jacobsen has received strong criticism from rower Kjetil Borch for the way she has handled the case. In a letter from April, Borch wrote: “The athletes’ committee has failed to promote Norwegian athletes’ sports policy point of view, and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen as leader works across the interests of the athletes”. Borch also pointed there to Jacobsen’s role as an IOC member.
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Jacobsen gives himself up as head of the sports committee – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
