The Norwegian Athletics Federation has decided, after "weighing all the factors", that Gjert will not receive an accreditation for Budapest 2023.
They refused to elaborate any further, and they don't know exactly how many coach accreditations they'll be given. The expected number is around 10.
When Gjert was denied a coach pass at Bislett Games earlier this season they said that "it's a small stadium and the warm-up area is really cramped, and if every athlete brought their coach it would be overcrowded".
Ok, could be true. But today's decision smells rotten.
Why wouldn't a legitimate medal contender in what's arguably the 2nd most prestigious running event be allowed to have his coach there if that's what he wants? (and yes, he does)
If we go through some names real quick:
Jakob Ingebrigtsen - 1500/5000 - favorite
Karsten Warholm - 400mH - favorite
Narve Gilje Nordås - 1500/(5000) - podium contender in the 1500
Eivind Henriksen - hammer throw - top 10 (underperforming season)
Thomas Mardal - hammer throw - top 10
Sander Skotheim - decathlon - top 10
Markus Rooth - decathlon - top 10
Sondre Guttormsen - pole vault - top 10
Pål Haugen Lillefosse - pole vault - top 10
Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen - 400 - SF
On the women's side it's as barren as the Bouvet island:
Sigrid Borge - javelin - top 10
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal - 5000 - top 10 on a VERY good day (injury issues)
So, expecting 10 accreditations and 12 athletes (2 gold contenders, 1 podium contender, 9 top 10 / SF) with potential for top 10 performances, it makes no logical sense to snub #3 on that list.
Now that we've established that logic had no say in this allocation, lets just skip the bs and say that everyone who knows something about Norwegian track & field are well aware of the real reason: there is someone important who doesn't want to see Gjert in the athlete zones.
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