The surprising and long-awaited gold of Markus Rooth has pleased us Norwegians for almost two days already. But a decathlon gold medal at the Olympics attracts attention in many other places as well. “I wasn’t actually surprised.” The Swedish expert news meets in South Pars Arena is someone who really knows what she’s talking about. Carolina Klüft is herself an Olympic all-around champion from Athens in 2004. “I had been tipped off by Fredrik Samuelsson (Swedish tennis champion, editor’s note) that Rooth could win a medal, so we were prepared”. It wasn’t Norway. Although someone must have spent the rest of the weekend pretending. One of those who did not hide how unexpected this gold was was father Espen Rooth. After the first Saturday in August 2024, he can also officially call himself a “success coach”. For father’s presence is as subdued as it is evident. There is no movement on the pitch, in training or competition, that is not followed carefully and analytically. The Rooth athletics family has been a term in Norwegian athletics since long before this historic evening in Paris. GOLDEN BOY: Markus Rooth took Norway’s first Olympic gold in the Paris Olympics. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Athletics as a family tradition Espen is one of four brothers who have previously all asserted themselves in the Norwegian top. And we’re not going to pretend we haven’t seen the elements before. Or rather later. Running brothers. A father who trains the children. Olympic gold. But where many years of open turbulence finally ended in a much-discussed break between the generations in the Ingebrigtsen family, there is a striking harmony that characterizes Rooth from Lambertseter in the east of Oslo. Although coach father Rooth laconically remarked with a smile that “one day I quit, the next I’m fired” after his son became Olympic champion. This is what you only say when you are in balance. And together they have built expertise over several years, despite the relatively young age of son Markus and daughter Kajsa, who is also an athlete. Where this is not strong enough within themselves, they bring in assistance from outside. For example in discus and javelin. A future in top sport? “The secret behind Markus’ success is that he loves to train,” said Espen Rooth. And made it so simple that it was understandable to most of us. Rooth’s triumph gave us back the somewhat faded faith in the concept of father coaches in Norwegian athletics. Well, Atle Guttormsen has success with his pole vaulting sons Sondre and Simen. SPORTS FAMILY: Atle Guttormsen’s sons Sondre and Simen have become some of Norway’s Olympic hopes. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB But an Olympic gold is on a completely different level than what they are currently performing. Perhaps Espen Rooth is a man who possesses qualities Olympiatoppen should try to make use of in the future. Tore Øvrebø is in his last period as top sports manager. No obvious successor has crystallized so far. Espen Rooth, a name that may actually soon end up on the list of candidates. In any case, you won’t get a better application than the one his son wrote for him. Fathers who are only almost fathers Karsten Warholm definitely has a biological father at home in Ulsteinvik. But you don’t get closer to a coaching father than Leif Olav Alnes at the top of Norwegian and international athletics. Alnes was also the man who persuaded his pupil to quit the decathlon. And it happened reluctantly. With what you must call a fairly successful result. But what Markus Rooth did was in many ways to continue the project Alnes and Warholm started for Norwegian athletics. STARS: Hurdler Karsten Warholm together with athletics coach Leif Olav Alnes. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB Now we have a world star in the exercise he dropped – and Warholm can instead concentrate on winning his second straight Olympic gold in the 400 meter hurdles. But a less obvious effect of Norway’s first medal in this Olympics must also be mentioned at the end. And it is about Sweden. Beautiful Sweden One of the most absurd things that spice up the Norwegian desperation for an Olympic medal is that in the minutes before the decision of the decathlon, it was experienced that both St. Lucia and Dominica won their first Olympic gold – or medals – ever. Everyone gets medals. Just not Norway. And Norway moved even further down in the medal statistics, which we weren’t really part of yet. These statistics are the summary of how a nation succeeds in an Olympics. Or definitely not. Sweden has been successful. Norway has failed completely. Until this. MEDAL AFTER MEDAL: The Swedes have won seven medals in Paris so far. Photo: Evgenia Novozhenina / Reuters Now we have just failed. Not completely failed and can see the world with slightly more generous eyes. I am one of those people who have always loved Swedish sport. But rejoicing that they do it better than us in the Olympics is a stage long since passed. With Rooth’s gold, it was once again possible to enjoy the joy of what our sometimes dear neighbors have achieved. And perform. Because while Norway used Sunday to enjoy Rooth’s medal ceremony and the sound of Nordraak’s tunes, Swedish stars continued to impress. A sensation with a twist from Småland The aforementioned Carolina Klüft’s presence in the arena in the south of Paris was an attempt to challenge the forces of nature. One of the sport’s basic laws is that China – or in very rare cases another nation from Asia – wins the men’s singles class in table tennis. Regardless. The only European triumph ever came by the Swedish legend JO Waldner in 1992. On this day there was a brand new Swedish surprise who had once again challenged the Chinese in their national sport. His name is Truls Möregårdh, who in recent days has created “a total fever” in Sweden, as Expressen’s commentator Tomas Pettersson described it. This includes knocking out Chinese world number one Wang Chuqin en route to the final. There, Möregårdh did not quite reach a new Chinese, Fan Zhendong. Despite the fact that at 9-2 to the Chinese he played a crazy screw ball that has already gone viral. Nevertheless, Möregårdh was a real sensation from Småland anyway. SENSATION: Truls Möregårdh has charmed many after impressing greatly in table tennis. Photo: Michael Wyke / AP One of those who perform far above expectations when it counts the most. At the age of 22. Which is only two months younger than Markus Rooth. “Markus is fantastic. I actually met him on the spot and congratulated him,” said the likeable Swede to news afterwards. After Sweden’s sixth medal. And a trick shot for Youtube and history books. “You have to invite the audience”, as he himself said afterwards. This is how stars are created. The world’s best sprinter But Sweden also has someone who has been a star for a long time. The world’s best female swimming sprinter. On the last night of swimming competitions in the spectacular La Defense Arena, Swedish superstar Sarah Sjöström competed in her favorite distance, the 50m freestyle. Sjöström was already a gold winner in the 100 metres. There she surprised herself and everyone. SURPRISED: Sarah Sjöström won Sweden’s second Olympic gold in Paris. Photo: Andy Chua / Reuters And subsequently had to apologize to her parents at home in Stockholm, who she had forgotten to tell that she was going to swim that distance as well, so that they could not reach down to see her from the stands. They managed that this evening. With the daughter as a big favourite. Sjöström alone has swum more times under 24 seconds in 50 meters than everyone else in the world combined. Sjöström complied to the benefit. And took his and Sweden’s second gold in the Games. Now they have seven medals. Norway has one. At least until Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Narve Gilje Nordås run the final of 1500 meters on Tuesday. “I think most people know their level when they come here. So everyone is equally good at getting it out when it counts,” she describes it when news asks her what Norway can learn from her way of performing. The calmness she radiates suggests that this may be where part of the secret lies. Even if you forget to tell your parents. A bit of the same feeling you get when you listen to Karsten Warholm. Or Markus Rooth. He who always has his father by his side. Published 05/08/2024, at 12.14
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