– I feel very good, better than last year, Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen tells news during a meeting in the training hall in Moelv. And that’s no small feat for the man who was the sprint comet of the year in European athletics last year. The 21-year-old shocked the world’s elite in the WC, and sensationally made it to the final in Budapest. On the way he set a new personal record in the 400 meters with 44.39, only six hundredths behind Thomas Schönlebe’s European record at the time. But it wasn’t just the best 400-meter runners in the world who were photographed in bed. Mum Mari Ann Bentdal also thinks the development was frightening. – He has jumped fast, so it becomes a bit like “What now? What for next year? Should he run even faster?”. So yes, I can get a little scared, she says. And the express train itself was surprised by its own progress. – I was a bit scared myself, to be completely honest, he says of the times. – What is frightening about the development? – No, it’s that it went down so quickly. I pushed by almost two seconds. It’s not quite normal. STAR SHOT: Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen. Photo: NTB From an icy hall to the Olympics During the WC this summer, it was around 30 degrees when Bentdal Ingvaldsen jumped. Heavy conditions for a long-distance runner, perfect for a sprinter. In the training hall in Moelv, it is around 20 degrees colder. Nevertheless, he does not get envious when world record holder Wayde van Niekerk posts a training photo from South Africa on Instagram. – We have to drive in minus 20 and go out in a cold car. Pack a lot of clothes when we go in here, often with both a hat and mittens. But I get the heat after a while, so it’s going well, says Hardhausen. Nor did mum allow herself to be stressed by Norwegian temperatures. With last year’s season fresh in their minds, they know that the scheme works. – It is a security. There is something about making big changes. I know what has worked. It’s a bit scary to start changing a lot right now, she says. Home training This year’s two big goals are fast approaching: the EC in Rome in June and the Olympics in Paris in August. Besides Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Karsten Warholm and Narve Gilje Nordås, he is Norway’s leading athletics hope. – I have found that I run better under pressure. Because then I become even more sharp and concentrated, says Bentdal Ingvaldsen. On the way to the Olympics, mother and son Ingvaldsen have used homemade training methods. A father in the local athletics group put together a kind of sled that the speed phantom can drag along the track. It is just wide enough to avoid a crash with the block that Bentdal Ingvaldsen is sprinting from. And with some extra weights on, strength is built and speed improves. Photo: Jørn Tveter / news – I don’t know of many other long-distance sprinters who have that kind of start from the block. Some will probably say that the contact time is a bit long and that it is a bit heavy. But I have seen that it is a very good strength training. Håvard has become very strong from it, she says. The great talent is delighted to have his mother as his closest support player and coach. – I think it works very well, and I think it will continue to do so. We’ll see if the results hold up. But we are very confident in each other and have gained very good control over what we do, he says.
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Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen frightened by his own development – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
