Sand volleyball player Emilie Olimstad and colleague Sunniva Helland-Hansen have had some dramatic days. The duo was supposed to fly from the training session in Portugal to Morocco, and participate in the Challenger tournament in Agadir, but that idea was already stopped at the passport control at the airport in Marrakech. Even with the loss of potentially valuable points on the way to the Olympics, and a night with strangers. – Of course, this is very sad and boring. I am very disappointed by the situation, but at the same time, I only have myself to blame for being in this situation here, says Emilie Olimstad to news, who has just been stranded at the airport in Marrakech in Morocco for two days. – Safer to have someone in Olimstad who had managed to get on the plane from Portugal without showing their passport. When she landed in Marrakech and was going through passport control, she discovered that it had been lost, and she couldn’t get out of the city. Without the passport, Olimstad could not enter the country. Helland-Hansen therefore chose to fly back home to Norway, while Olimstad was still trying to solve the passport problem. The Norwegian embassy was contacted, but Olimstad could not get an emergency passport without physically visiting the embassy. And of course she couldn’t do that, as she couldn’t get into the country. SATSAR: Olimstad and Helland-Hansen are ranked number nine, and the tournament in Agadir was an important tournament to get more points and a better ranking. Photo: IVO GONZALEZ FOR OIS / HANDOUT IOC Olimstad was therefore taken to the transit area at the airport, and then shown to a room where she could sleep. – I got a room with another lady who had two children, with whom I had to share a bed. Mother was immediately upset, but we just had to make the best of it. It was safer to have someone there, than to be completely alone, says Olimstad. – Did you feel unsafe? – There was only one door there, which you couldn’t lock, and police came in all the time who didn’t speak English. They just shook their heads when I asked for help, says Olimstad. The night to Friday was also spent at the airport, but then without anywhere to sleep. – Then I maybe slept for an hour, she continues. Found a solution When news contacted Olimstad on Friday, the beach volleyball player had finally got on a plane back to Portugal. She landed on Friday morning. – Then I was followed by the police all the way, and received by someone who was supposed to get me through passport control. Then they said I should never go to Morocco as a blonde and alone, she says. FOLGJE: Here are the police that Olimstad had to accompany. Photo: PRIVAT She also got that message from another traveler at the airport in Marrakech. On Friday evening, Olimstad will fly home to Norway. The passport has been found and is coming home. – I’m all right now. If I’m going to complain, I really want to take a shower. I am very happy that I am going home now, she says. The Challenger tournament, which the duo was initially supposed to participate in, was important with a view to obtaining good points towards the Olympic qualification for Paris in 2024, which starts in October. – There were many teams that could not compete in this tournament, so it is very stupid that we do not get the opportunity to do so. It was probably the most boring thing, that it was hot, she says. She gets support from her teammate. – We really get to feel that it is going against the grain. Now it will be good to breathe a little before we attack again together, Helland-Hansen writes on his Instagram profile.
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Sleep in a room with a stranger and followed by the police – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
