– He came into checkpoint Tana and yelled at me to the skin. I got slapped from A to Z. I don’t dare continue the race, says Kristoffer Halvorsen. Thomas Wærner describes this as a non-issue. The veteran Halvorsen chose to break the FL1200 in Neiden, even though he was first in the track and had good chances of taking WC gold. And it wasn’t because of the dogs, says Halvorsen. – Thomas Wærner threatened me that people will be flown up to monitor me for the rest of the race. According to Halvorsen, the threats must have been that Wærner would gladly pay some NOK 50,000 to follow Halvorsen. Halvorsen has now been to the police station in Kirkenes and reported the incident. – We can confirm that a report of threats has been received from a participant at the Finnmarksløpet. The threats must have been made by another participant, says on-call lawyer Eve K. Remmen in the Finnmark police district. On Monday evening, the race management had a jury meeting about the events. Here it appears that there must have been unsporting behavior from both sides. Here, Kristoffer Halvorsen drives out at FL1200. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news Filmed in the alley Thomas Wærner is still with FL1200, and is first in the track on the way to checkpoint Kirkenes. news has spoken to him, and told him about the accusations from Kristoffer Halvorsen. Wærner believes this is a non-issue, but beyond that he does not want to comment on what has happened. news learns that he was filmed at checkpoint Tana, and that this must have been the course of the conflict. news has not been able to get a comment from Wærner on the police report. Thomas Wærner at checkpoint Tana. Photo: Rune Berg / news – No grounds for sanctions Finnmarksløpet race leader Rita Hallvig confirms that they had a jury trial on Monday evening, and that one of the jury members was also present when it happened. The case was reported by an official, and involved unsportsmanlike behavior from both parties. Three witnesses are said to have independently described the situation as a brief altercation following allegations of something that should have happened on the course before checkpoint Tana, according to race leader Rita Hallvig. – The participants stood at a good distance from each other, and there was no physical contact. The situation should also have been over in a few seconds, she says. The jury has unanimously decided that there is no basis for sanctioning any of the drivers. – We comply with the regulations. The fact that the participants sometimes do not agree on a decision cannot be taken into account by the jury. If participants want to break the race because he disagrees, this is the participant’s choice, says Hallvig. Finnmarksløpet and the jury now consider this case finished. The conflicts continue This is not the first time there have been conflicts surrounding the high-profile dog handler Thomas Wærner. Last year Wærner won NM gold when he crossed the finish line first in the FL1200, but afterwards a complaint was lodged against him. Five competitors believed that several violations of the rules had been made. They accused Wærner of several breaches of animal welfare rules and inappropriate behaviour. As proof of this, they attached eight videos. Among other things, he was accused of starting out with lame dogs, and of running over the vets at a checkpoint. Wærner was acquitted on all counts by the sanctions committee in the association, and later by the Norwegian Dog Handlers’ Association. Nevertheless, the rules for animal welfare have subsequently been changed in Finnmarksløpet and Femundløpet. Kristoffer Halvorsen has chosen to report the incident at the checkpoint in Tana. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen / news Never going back Kristoffer Halvorsen says he did not want to drive on because he is afraid of being scolded again. Now he has broken to protest what he believes is unacceptable behaviour. He reacts to the fact that the management of the Finnmarksløpet does not sanction. – I will never come up here again until I receive a public apology. That’s not going to happen, says Halvorsen. – It is broken, but Halvorsen has to do what is right for him, says race leader Rita Hallvig.
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Advance favorite Kristoffer Halvorsen broke the Finnmark race after the jury meeting – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
