In the last week alone, we have seen it several times. Climate markings that interrupt great sporting moments. And the discussions at the back – whether this can in any way be defended. There is only one thing that is certain. This will be much more of Karsten Warholm’s two powerful victories in the 400 meter hurdles in recent days, the first, during the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, was extra memorable. Most of all because the finish was marred by protesters who blocked the running track for seven of the eight participants with a seal. The message on the banner was “Förjud Torvbrytning”. I mention this because it is a goal which in itself is so legitimate that it deserves to be mentioned. The peat that is mined at 182 locations in Sweden is used, among other things, for soil improvement and for burning, and much of it is exported. The problem is that this happens when draining bog areas and leads to large CO2 emissions. The industry is therefore controversial – and has been banned in several European countries. DANGEROUS PROTEST: Environmental activists block the finish line during Karsten Warholm’s hurdle race in the Diamond League Photo: Skjermdump / news So far, everything is fine. It is also understandable that you want to use all methods to present a message that you believe is being neglected by responsible and, for that matter, irresponsible politicians. And that this leads to forms of self-proclaimed desperation. It is still not good to do it in a way that harms athletes, who are doing nothing but performing to the best of their ability in an important event. Whatever the goal and noble mission. Only the Norwegian Olympic champion completely escaped the blockades in Stockholm. All the other participants were affected – and Warholm’s French competitor Wilfried Happio was also injured in the attempt to pass the banner that was held over the seven innermost lanes. No one should be injured by this type of protest. Then you have missed the action form. Second serve in the second game in the second set Three days later there were new climate demonstrations at a sports arena, when well-grown activists twice took to the Wimbledon grass during ongoing matches and threw puzzle pieces (sic) and orange-coloured confetti. On behalf of the organization “Just stop oil”, which earlier this year has marked in the same way during major tournaments in rugby, cricket and snooker. The same message was on the t-shirt of the striker who stripped himself to one of the goal posts and stopped the Premier League match between Everton and Newcastle last autumn. With an entire football-interested world as spectators. INTERRUPTED TENNIS MATCH: A man with a “Stop oil exploration” shirt is carried out of Wimbledon Photo: AP The location is not accidental this time either. The world’s biggest tennis tournament is shown on screens around the world. The timing was probably also chosen with symbolic care. The first mark, in the match between Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Japanese Sho Shimabukuro, came just before the duck reserve at the beginning of the second game in the second set. The number 2 symbolizes the international network both Just stop oil and Förbjud torvbrytning are part of. This is called the A22 Network, i.e. the A22 network. “We are at the beginning of a climate catastrophe. The fight against the clock is the most important race in human history,” writes the group, which on its website claims to have support from NASA scientists and directors as well as the author Noam Chomsky. Stop skiing The Norwegian story about this with demonstrations in large arenas was until recently largely limited to the Spanish so-called “streaker” Jimmy Jump, or Jaume Maarquet i Cot, as he is actually called, who ran onto the stage when the Eurovision Song final Contest was organized at Fornebu in 2010. Without any major political agenda beyond showing that it was possible. Last winter he had more activist company. The cross-country World Cup race at Lillehammer in December was interrupted, when campaigners blocked the course with a banner with the message “Stop oil exploration”. ALSO IN NORWAY: The police must clean up after protesters attacked during a ski race at Lillehammer Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news The action group with the same name is part of the same A22 network. And while the protesters in Wimbledon this week were mostly adults who want to save the planet for their grandchildren, this represents several younger activists. Here, too, innocent athletes were the ones who suffered, when their races were destroyed. Which creates strong and understandable reactions, in Lillehammer as in Stockholm as in London. Safety hazard Everything indicates that the form of action will be taken further. Sporting events give exactly the attention you want. Therefore, whether they like it or not, they are particularly suitable for this type of activism. In its own way, sport also represents all too well the escape from reality the protesters want to end. In this sense, sport also in theory benefits from having to deal with realities that also affect it to an ever-increasing degree. Whether it’s in the form of flooded rugby and cricket pitches or canceled ski runs due to a lack of snow. But no one benefits from a sports experience that is characterized to a much greater degree by much stricter and tougher security in the arenas. Including the obvious threat of more fences and other physical barriers between spectators and the arena itself. Exactly what you have worked so hard to avoid for so long. In order not to lose the closeness and the inherent trust between stands and athletes. ORANGE DEMO: An environmental activist sprinkles himself with powder during a rugby final in London Photo: AFP Another danger is necessarily that the demonstrators lose sympathy and support in segments that both like sport and make important decisions, about wind turbines, about the development of the oil industry or peat extraction. Which is often the type of people who call themselves adults. And who at the same time is the group of young – or older – activists who have obviously lost all confidence in them. The fight against inflation In any case, it is difficult to say that the world does not need stronger expressions of climate desperation than we see today. The problem with the mentioned type of actions can nevertheless be partly that there is simply inflation in them, partly that one uses other people’s arena to speak only to one’s own, which will work against its real purpose. Therefore, there are several organizations that work with climate that have expressed a desire for future actions to take place to a greater extent in collaboration with committed practitioners. PLANNED SUPPORT: The Norwegian national team with a banner supporting guest workers before a World Cup qualifier in 2021 Photo: NTB One such is snowboarder Jeremy Jones, who started the Protect our Winters campaign, another is the Norwegian footballer Morten Thorsby. And in England they have got their first certified carbon neutral club in Forest Green Rovers. But for many, this is far from enough. And the actions will certainly continue, with the summer Olympics in a French capital boiling hot in many ways next summer as an obvious target. Monday this week was otherwise the hottest day ever measured on the globe. The next day the record was broken. And so it has continued until Thursday. Four world records in one week make an impression anyway, even in the world of sports.
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