– I am shocked that people are wreaking havoc with this now. We are only in October and it is a long time until Paris (where next year’s Olympics will be held), says Gjert Ingebrigtsen to news, shortly after the news that he will not be allowed to take part in the WC indoor or EC indoor championships was announced on Thursday. The Athletics Federation informed World Championship bronze medalist Narve Gilje Nordås and his experienced coach about the decision just before sending out a press release. Nordås called the decision absolute vis-à-vis news. He believes it happens without his involvement. Now Gjert Ingebrigtsen feels injustice. He is upset by the characteristics the union includes in the press release and frustrated by the situation. – What could be initiated is a dialogue. This means that the Norwegian Athletics Federation does not see any solution to anything until the championships in 2024. I had hoped that you could be together in a professional arena, so that you could do your job. ACCREDITED: Gjert Ingebrigtsen most recently received championship accreditation from the Norwegian Athletics Federation during the European Championships in Munich 2022. Photo: Hanne Skjellum He primarily aims at a dialogue between Narve Gilje Nordås and the Ingebrigtsen brothers: Henrik, Filip and Jakob. On Thursday, news revealed that the Norwegian Athletics Federation had to intervene after they were notified about Henrik Ingebrigtsen’s behavior towards Nordås during a training camp. The relationship has been cool throughout the season. – Narve is primarily what I think of with regard to training camps and championships. You don’t talk to Narve, you make decisions outside of it. I wish there could have been a dialogue between the parties, so that we can live with a 2024 where we can be in the same arena, says Ingebrigtsen, who concludes with: – Instead, you go for the easy solution and shut Gjert out. Rodal: – They are adults after all. news expert Vebjørn Rodal understands that the athletics association finds the matter difficult: – I don’t know if we should expect a special association in sports to have the capacity to take on this type of conflict management, says Rodal. He believes that what you can expect is that they come with an offer of professional help. – As long as there is a third party who suffers from this type of situation, I do not think it is unreasonable to expect that they should clean up the chamber. After all, there are adults involved. Sports manager in the Norwegian Athletics Federation, Erlend Slokvik, tells news that professional help has been offered through the Olympic summit on previous occasions. That offer was rejected. SPORTS MANAGER: Erlend Slokvik. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Top sports manager Tore Øvrebø does not want to comment on what such an offer entails. Gjert Ingebrigtsen claims he has heard nothing about it. – I don’t expect them to agree, but that for everyone’s good they will agree internally on who will travel where, so that the athletics association does not have to take on this refereeing role on who will be allowed to travel here and there. That would make it easier, says Rodal. news has asked Henrik Ingebrigtsen about Rodal’s statements and the fact that Slokvik says that professional help has been offered, but so far without an answer. In an SMS on Thursday after the association’s press release, Henrik Ingebrigtsen wrote to news: – We are registering the information that came from the athletics association today (Thursday). As of now, we have no comments to make on this matter. Athletics’ ongoing conflict The Norwegian Athletics Federation has changed its strategy in a short time. Not so much in content as in form. Now they appear with a much greater degree of clarity in the, yes, ongoing conflict between the different parts of the Ingebrigtsen family – as well as those directly affected by this. The expected shock “Directly affected” in this context means Narve Gilje Nordås. The Swedish Athletics Federation has already announced that his coach Gjert Ingebrigtsen will not be accredited in next year’s championships – including the Olympics in Paris. Coach Ingebrigtsen expresses shock and disbelief. And again shows his sense of public theatre. Nothing about this is shocking. Time heals some wounds The management of NFIF has made an early choice, in obvious consultation with the Olympiatoppen. This is how you air out the noise now and hope for calm by the time the Games in Paris really approach. And shows again how important it is to keep Gjert Ingebrigtsen away from the Olympic squad. The danger of energy leakage in his presence is too great. Different children play best The losing party in this is Narve Gilje Nordås. Which loses a resource he would normally quite obviously have access to in the championships to come. Perhaps he simply made it too easy to favor him with his heroic effort in the World Cup. Without an accreditation around Gjert Ingebrigtsen’s neck. Accreditation not discussed at meeting Slokvik confirms to news that the Swedish Athletics Federation will not nominate Gjert Ingebrigtsen for a coach accreditation for the Olympics, where the Olympic Summit decides. In recent weeks, the association has had several meetings with the various parties around the 2024 season. – The Norwegian Athletics Federation has made a decision on the basis that everyone has spoken. We in the athletics association have close follow-up and have spoken to all the parties involved, says athletics president Anne Farseth to news. However, the accreditation issue was not on the table when Nordås and Gjert Ingebrigtsen met the sporting management of the association last week. – It was a topic about how Narve has experienced the situation and it was also a topic about how Jakob and the guys have experienced it towards Gjert, says Slokvik about the meeting. The actual decision to deny Ingebrigtsen coaching accreditation was taken at a later stage, according to Slokvik. – There has not been a dialogue about whether he should get accreditation or not, confirms the sports director. – Why are you making this decision so early? – There has been a lot of attention and many questions over a long time, says Slokvik, who now hopes that the early decision will enable them to make good frameworks and plans for Nordås going forward. Uncertain about the plan: – Far too early to say anything Nordås went to the WC with Per Svela as his closest supporter at the stadium. The training partner was with him for the warm-up and assumed the role that Gjert Ingebrigtsen would normally have in connection with the races. That solution, Rodal believes, is no resting pillow for anyone. – It is not certain that we can expect that support from Svela. He has his own ambitions and that means that he hopes to be a participant in the EC. When asked if he thinks there will be more of this type of work, Svela replies: – Basically, I focus on my own career. Of course I help Narve in training and with other things. This will be a completely different matter. The Swedish Athletics Federation believes it is too early to say anything about how the system will be around Nordås in the upcoming championships. – It is my job now to stitch together a sporting plan with the Olympic summit leading up to the Olympics, but it is far too early to say anything about that now, says Slokvik to news.
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