– One is a little surprised by how steep it is. And then like to think that it is a stone staircase, but it is not. It’s a stone clock! That’s what track and field runner Henrik Ingebrigtsen says just after running “Stoltzekleiven Opp” today. – But it’s nice to push yourself in a form of competition I’m not used to. In rather sour weather, with rain showers, a bit of wind and 9-10 degrees, thousands of runners battled their way up the more than 900 steps in Stoltzekleiven in Bergen on Saturday. The downhill race, which calls itself the world’s steepest, runs between Fjellveien and Sandviksfjellet, with a height difference of 301.44 metres. The expected highlight was the star duel between Ingebrigtsen and cross-country runner Didrik Tønseth. Henrik Ingebrigtsen smiled brightly after finishing 21st in this year’s “Stoltzekleiven opp”. He came 53 seconds behind his most prominent competitor, Didrik Tønseth, who took bronze with a time of 8.45 Photo: Sissel Rikheim / news Previous achievements and today’s achievements Tønseth has two WC golds and one Olympic gold, all in relays, and four NM gold. He also has a NM gold in cross-country running. Throughout the 2010s, Ingebrigtsen has been one of Europe’s best in middle-distance running. He has one EC gold, three silver and two bronze, and nine NM gold. Both are 32 years old. At 1 pm on Saturday, Ingebrigtsen started one minute before Tønseth. At the finish Ingebrigtsen came seven seconds ahead of Tønseth. Ingebrigtsen therefore jumped in 9.38, Tønseth in 8.45. No duel The result went to bronze for Tønseth. – It was heavier than I feared. Everyone said it was steep and that I should open hard, and I did. A little too hard. It was tough at the end, yes, says Tønseth after the award ceremony. – Did you see Ingebrigtsen as a competitor today? – Unfortunately, I didn’t do it. It was nice that we met here, but there was never a proper duel. In a way, this is not the arena for any of us. It still looks a lot more like my usual arena than a flat athletics track, so it suits me better than him. Ingebrigtsen still in 21st place. He has competed in Stoltzen several times before. – I feel it is only getting worse and worse, he says shortly after reaching the finish line. Ludvigsen and Dyrhovden won again This year’s winner in the men’s class was Torbjørn Ludvigsen. Just after Tønseth, he jumped in to win in 8.05. Ludvigsen has won the race several times. Soon after, Joel Dyrhovden finished in 2nd place in 8.20. Dyrhovden won the Stoltzen last year (8.23). Stian Øvergaard Aarvik thus still holds the record in Stoltzen: 7 minutes and 46 seconds. Kristin Størmer Steira set the track record for women all the way back in 2013: 9 minutes and 35 seconds. Among the women, last year’s winner Emma Dyrhovden won in 9.52, with Karoline Kyte in second place (10.06). Kyte is the one who has been closest to Steira’s record time. Yvonne Berge Børsheim took 3rd place (10.19) ahead of another favorite, skater and Norwegian orienteering champion Ragne Wiklund, who came 4th. In advance, race director for “Stoltzekleiven opp”, Carl Eilert Macody Lund, had predicted that last year’s winners Dyrhovden and Dyrhovden would also win this year, with Ludvigsen and Tønseth as challengers on the men’s side, and Kyte, Wiklund and Nora Markhus on the women’s side.
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