Iuel came to run NM – was denied entry to the stadium – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– We almost only have to accept the infection control rules. The best thing here is to be on the safe side. It was a small road trip, but we have to endure it and rather try to recharge for the final tomorrow night, says Amalie Iuel.

She is sitting in a car outside the NM stadium in Fana, together with training buddy Karsten Warholm and coach Leif Olav Alnes.

They had planned to enter the stadium, and Iuel’s wish was to run the test heat in the 400 meter hurdles on Saturday night. So it did not work.

This is the background: Before the NM, it was decided that the four Norwegian athletes who participated in Thursday’s Diamond League competition in Rome would have a place directly in the NM finals in their main exercises. Jakob Ingebrigtsen got a free ticket to the final in the 1500 meters, Karsten Warholm in the 400 meter hurdles, Hedda Hynne in the 800 meters and Amalie Iuel in the 400 meter hurdles.

This is so that they can participate in the NM in accordance with the infection control guidelines that were adopted.

– Asked not to come

They were required to take a corona test on arrival in Bergen, which had to be confirmed negative. In addition, it was decided that they could not compete until they had been in Norway for 24 hours.

But not everyone in Athletics Norway thought it was unproblematic for the stars to get a direct place in the final. This is one of the reasons why Iuel wanted to stand in the experiment when she received a negative answer to the coronation test during Saturday.

Therefore, John Ertzgaard on behalf of Iuel’s club Tjalve contacted the jury to get her into the experiment. It did not work.

– She has been asked not to come, because infection control is what is most important right now, says technical delegate for NM, Heidi Hvistendahl, to NRK.

Do not understand the criticism

She emphasizes that Iuel himself has always wanted to run the trial, but the jury and the competition management together with the Norwegian Athletics Association made the decision that the mentioned four should get free places in the finals for infection control reasons.

Therefore, she also does not understand the criticism that has come, including in several groups on Facebook.

– We do not think anything of that, says Hvistendahl.

This criticism also makes Leif Olav Alnes a little upset.

– It is actually quite a bigger burden to run all you can in Rome and travel here, than to jog through an attempt, so I have a hard time understanding that problem, he says.