Cheerleaders Robin Hemli Torgersen and Erik Nguyen Vo take a stand against prejudice – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule

– It was an “in your face” feeling. That’s what Robin Hemli Torgersen says when, a few months after the feat, he sees the recording of himself with news. The video shows that teammate Erik Nguyen Vo cheers and hugs, but Robin himself broke down. He stands a bit by himself, with the Norwegian flag around his shoulders. Tears well up as he looks down at the WC silver hanging around his neck. FRIENDS: Robin Hemli Torgersen (left) and Erik Nguyen Vo (right) have known each other for many years and become good friends. Photo: Sunniva Linjord / news Today they smile when they look back on the episode. – I look a bit half-stupid, but sports are just sensations, says Torgersen and laughs. The road to the World Cup silver and the collapse on the podium earlier this year has been anything but easy. It wasn’t just 15 years of hard training that he knew. The seven years of bullying also came crawling in the blink of an eye. – It is probably then that I have known that I have been paid the most. And was shown that it actually worked, he says today. In April, Torgersen and Nguyen Vo experienced becoming second best in the world when they took World Cup silver in cheerleading in Orlando in the USA. That would be the turning point. PROUD: Robin is proud to represent Norway in sport. Photo: Private “Girls sport” “Girls sport”, “gay sport” and “dusked ladies”. These are just some of the words the boys have heard. – We have been doing this for quite a few years, so in a way we are almost a bit used to something bad coming from both the left and the right, explains Robin. – There is nothing wrong with being gay, but sexual orientation has nothing to do with sport. There are no parallels there, adds the 20-year-old. This summer they won EC gold on home soil together with their team Nedre Romerike Cheerleaders (NRC Tigers). news meets the two recent European champions at Erik’s home in Lillestrøm. SAFE PLAY: Robin and Erik say that cheerleading has at times meant everything to them. Photo: Sunniva Linjord / news – I have heard a lot of negative things, but the worst thing for me is that it is seen as a “girl’s sport” or “gay sport” and the tassel stuff. It makes us unsure of ourselves and what we do, says Robin and adds: – There is so much more than that, and you have such a big misunderstanding of what it is, that it is completely wrong to speak out. if it. It is the worst, because we put in so many hours of training and effort, and then you are not informed about what it actually is, until you make a statement. At worst, it was extremely difficult for the 20-year-old, then to have been bullied for his interests. – Going to school was unsafe. Being at school was unsafe. Going home was unsafe. Everything during the week became unsafe. – I felt stupid when I came to training, because I had been told that what I was doing was nonsense. It became very taxing. TWIN BROTHER: Robin and his twin brother Ole-André have been cheerleading together since they were six years old. Photo: Private Teammate Erik has not experienced the strain in the same way, but he has also noticed that the sport is far from accepted by everyone. At the end of this year, he found out that he himself had been slandered because of his choice of sport. – I was a little shocked. It was a bit strange to hear. It was not something I expected to take at all. Erik is getting ready to show everyone the merits he has worked for. He has kept all his medals in a shoebox in the basement. Here are some of the particularly great achievements. The recent European champions say that it is difficult to look in from the outside, especially when you have no special knowledge of the sport. – When I tell others that I do cheerleading, I see what they think. I expect a reaction even before I have answered, says Nguyen Vo. The 21-year-old admits that he had prejudices before he himself was introduced to the sport. Be fooled Erik never planned to start cheerleading. As a youngster, free time was spent in break dancing, skateboarding and a lot of trampoline jumping with friends. He was a “really cool boy”, according to himself at the time. SURPRISED: Erik says that people are often surprised when he says what sport he does. Photo: Private When he was 12 years old, he was asked if he would like to start cheerleading. – As soon as I heard the word “cheerleading”, I thought: “No. That doesn’t happen.” He had seen a lot of American films. Cheerleading was tassel jumping and dancing. Men shouldn’t go on like this. A few months later, a friend asked if he would like to join a tour. Erik thought it was cool, so he showed up. The picture on the left shows Erik in year eight with cheerleading. The picture to the right shows one of his first years in the sport. Private/ news Suddenly he was supposed to lift a girl. Then it dawned on him what was actually going on. He had been “tricked”. – “What? Is it meat? I’m not going to be here.” I remember very well that I considered walking out the door, says Erik. It was his turn to lift a girl and throw her up to chest height. – I was sold. It just lit up something in me. Eight years have passed since then. – It is difficult to see in from the outside. I felt I didn’t belong. In my head I was really masculine, and then I felt that those around me were the opposite. – Now today I had beaten myself up and said that I was extremely stupid for not thinking anymore, says the 21-year-old. – Proper “gut atmosphere” It was only after the WC success that both experienced a clear separation. – People who had been commenting for a long time came over and said “good job”, and that they had misunderstood. I was accepted and people said sorry. It was an extremely good feeling to get, says Torgersen and adds: – I became even more confident in myself and the sport. If you stick with it long enough, it will eventually work itself out. He finally got paid for the job. OPEN ENVIRONMENT: Robin describes the environment as a safe place to be, where you can be yourself. Photo: Private Although Torgersen and Nguyen Vo have not let themselves be broken, they have experienced that others have quit because they could not stand the “nonsense comments” anymore. – I think it’s bad that you can’t just leave people alone and let them do what they want. The ugly development is that you treat others badly in general, and in any case it is only because you are doing something that is different, explains Torgersen. Both are afraid that such prejudices will result in little growth in the sport, and in the worst case, eradicate it because it is so small. – What we are most afraid of is that when we are grown up and have to take our children to a cheer competition and see the old team we were on, it is no longer there. One is dependent on having men to make things go around. If not, it will just be tassels, says Vo. High throws and heavy lifts. Construction of pyramids. Challenge of gravity. EC 2024: The video shows an extract from the EC in Sandefjord. Here, Robin is in focus with his work tasks. – We make most people lose their chins. There is a lot of harsh use of people. It’s “macho culture” and quite a “gut atmosphere”, says Torgersen. – We just want people to understand what we are doing, adds Nguyen Vo. Torgersen has a clear appeal to everyone who is familiar with his story: – Keep doing what you do and like. If you achieve something positive and are happy with what you are doing, then it doesn’t matter what others think. In the end, you end up a better person than those who throw shit. I DID IT: On Robin’s medal stand it says “I did it”. GOLD: Here he shows off the freshest metal in the collection. HAPPY: Robin shows off his collection of medals, and Erik shows off two championship rings. RINGS: Erik has rings from two different championships which he uses for decoration. Published 29/07/2024, at 13.58



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