– What is wrong in my eyes is that the rules are not enforced in the same way for all the athletes, says a devastated Kasper Moen Flatla to news after being kicked out of Saturday’s combined event. – That one simply treats differently? – Yes, quite simply. – Why? – They have probably stated that they want more nations at the top. If you are new, come from Norway and jump well on skis, they should in a way take you a little extra. Then it will be like this, believes the 23-year-old. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING NO: There will be no cross-country skiing at Moen Flatla on Saturday. Pictured here during the World Cup opening in Ruka last weekend. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB With a jump of 95 metres, Flatla would actually have finished just over a minute behind Jens Lurås Oftebro in the cross-country race later on Saturday. But instead it stopped at the dress inspector. According to Moen Flatla, the sleeve was measured to be just too long. – He measures a point directly above the knee, and thinks it is inside. He doesn’t like it, that the suit is inside there. Then he measures my arm to be two centimeters too long, he says of the check. – You start to wonder what is wrong with the system here, he adds. Moen Flata admits that one “has to lie on the border”, but believes that they are inside. He says the jumping suit was gone over together with Tom Hilde, the combined athletes’ jumping coach, in advance and that everything was considered to be inside there. Bjørnstad: – Had been told in advance The teammates say they feel sorry for Moen Flata. – First of all, I feel sorry for Kasper. He has a slightly too high clearance rate considering that he is such an honest guy. What is behind it… I hope it is primarily the equipment, and that there are no conspiracies behind it, says Jørgen Graabak. TEAMMATE: Espen Bjørnstad. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Unfortunately, it is not the first time Kasper has been dishonored. I think they’ve said a little bit, that they’re not entirely happy with how his suit looks. He has been told about it, so it’s no shock, really, says Espen Bjørnstad. Saturday’s race was Moen Flatla’s 26th in the World Cup. It is the third time he has been dished out in the four seasons since he made his debut in the World Cup. All the times he has been dished it has been due to problems with the jump suit. He was also dished out because of his suit during a race in Oberstdorf this summer. Rejects the criticism Lasse Ottesen, race manager for combined in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (Fis), explains the discus as follows. – The suit is not according to the rules we have. Unfortunately, there is far too much discussion about such things, but now it is the case that we have a set of regulations, and then we follow them, says Ottesen to news. Ottesen explains that the suit was both a little too big, and that they reacted to how the design of the suit looked. – He has also been notified a little in advance. He was in for a pre-check yesterday. When we see that nothing more has been done until today, that is unfortunately the way it is. When asked what he thinks about Moen Flatla’s statement about discrimination, he replies: – He will just have to stand for that. We believe the regulations are very clear. – Those who are good are good. As long as they follow the rules, we’re happy with it. There is no doubt that we hope to have as many nations as possible fighting for the podium. But that has nothing to do with equipment and rules, says Ottesen. – The feeling is that they are looking for him Sports manager Ivar Stuan says they feel a strong responsibility when a Norwegian athlete is dished out. – It is very sad for Kasper. He was in with that suit yesterday and was followed up for a check-up, and everything was “good to go”. Then he comes with the same suit and suddenly he is disheveled. The feeling that they are after him, I think he has that. SPORTS MANAGER: Ivar Stuan Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Whether there is politics in it, it is difficult to say. But we just have to keep doing the best we can, and then the others have to try to catch us in every possible way, says Stuan. PS! Cross-country skiing starts at 2.45 p.m. Jens Lurås Oftebro takes the lead, while Jarl Magnus Riiber is in fourth place, 22 seconds behind.
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Do you think Norwegian athletes are treated differently – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
