– We do not trust how they test at the present time. – Have you told this to FIS? – We have clearly stated that we do not trust it. But it doesn’t matter. That’s what Rainer Salzgeber, race manager of the ski brand Head, says, the day after Ragnhild Mowinckel was disqualified from the season opener in alpine skiing. The reason was sky-high fluoride levels under the skis of the Norwegian alpinist, despite the fact that the FIS has introduced a fluoride ban. – For us it is obvious that it was an incorrect disqualification, says Salzgeber. Part of the reason why Salzgeber is so convinced is that the serviceman went for a simple cleaning of one ski yesterday. Only with the help of a brush did he get the fluoride level down to legal levels again, and fluoride is known to be difficult to remove. – We brushed one ski, and the values were 0.1. It is far below the limit for disqualification, says Salzgeber. – Then at least we can sleep at night. The Austrian is the race director for the manufacturer that Mowinckel races for, and he is thus the boss of the service man who prepared the skis in question. Together with parts of the Norwegian support apparatus, he has worked hard for the past 24 hours to find out what went wrong. – With the knowledge we have now, we cannot understand the result we got, says Salzgeber, who is crystal clear that fluoride-free products were used under Mowinckel’s skis. FORMER ALPINIST: Salzgeber himself raced alpine for Austria. Photo: STR / Reuters He reveals that they have taken care of one of the skis from the race exactly as it was, and that it will be tested in a laboratory at the start of the week. – We don’t expect them to find fluoride, because when you don’t put fluoride on your skis, you won’t find it, says Head-toppen. The manufacturer is now purchasing two test machines that are identical to the machines that FIS uses. – Otherwise, the service men will no longer work for us. They will not be responsible for a case like the one yesterday. And then at least we get to sleep at night, says Salzgeber. THE TEST AREA: In this white tent the skis were tested. Photo: Martine Sørhus / news – There is no doubt that there was fluoride on the skis. Atle Skårdal, national team coach for the Norwegian alpine women, confirms that he has worked closely with Head over the past 24 hours. The Norwegian team already owns a test device that is identical to the one used by the FIS, which came in handy after the disqualification yesterday. – We tested with our device to double-check the measurement, and our device showed in principle almost one-tenth exactly the same as the FIS arrived at when they dished her, says Skårdal. – We do not ask any questions about the device or the measurement, he continues. RÅDVILL: Atle Skårdal. Photo: Carl Andreas Wold / news The national team coach supports Salzgeber’s story that the fluoride level returned to the legal range after just a few minutes of brushing, which suggests that they were not groomed with fluoride products. – But it almost raises even more questions than answers, says Skårdal, who still has no idea where the fluorine came from. – The device is not infallible, I can agree with that, but there is no reason to believe that the measurement was wrong. There is no doubt that there was fluoride on Ragnhild’s skis, notes Skårdal. Dissolved in tears, Mowinckel herself was completely devastated by the news of the fluoride discovery, and she only spoke to the licensee in Sölden. – We are of course not trying to cheat, I am sure that a mistake has been made. The juror explained that the values were so high that the fluorine could not have been picked up on the track, but must have been smeared on, she told TV 2 on Saturday. Work is now continuing to find out how fluoride could be found on Mowinckel’s skis. – We have to know what went wrong, that’s obvious, says Salzgeber, who is supported by Skårdal: – We have to review all routines. FIS does not wish to comment on Salzgeber’s statements.
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– We don’t trust how they test – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
