Criticism of the SOC before the Olympics has been enormous.
Now Norway rages against Sweden.
– What the Swedes are doing is completely incomprehensible, says Jörgen Borgren, director of sports at the athletics club Ull/Kis.
There has been a storm around SOK, the Swedish Olympic Committee, in recent months. Several activists have openly criticized the organization, as their qualification limits lead to Swedes who have actually qualified for the Olympics, still being forced to stay at home.
Enormous criticism of SOK
There are several different ways to qualify for the Olympics. But in the end, SOK always has the final say, and if you don’t get the green light from there, you simply cannot participate in the competitions. The International Athletics Federation has its own requirements for being allowed to compete in the Olympics, but the SOK has its own requirements that the active should be able to compete to be among the top twelve.
This means that active players can pass the official qualification limit, but if SOK does not think that you have a chance of making the top twelve, you are still not allowed to go. In recent weeks, track and field athletes such as Maja Nilsson, Sara Lena and Rebecka Hallerth have all been snubbed by the SOK, despite having passed the official qualification limits, which in the long run also means that significantly worse athletes from other countries get the places instead. The criticism has been harsh from several Swedish track and field athletes – and now the SOK is also seen in neighboring Norway.
“It is completely incomprehensible”
In Norway, all those who qualified were included in the Olympic squad, and now Jörgen Borgren, who is the sports director of the club Ull/Kis, believes that the entire athletics world is completely misunderstanding Sweden and the Olympic Committee’s decision.
– What the Swedes are doing is completely incomprehensible. The entire athletics world is tearing its hair out. SOK in Sweden is the closest thing to nobility, who do as they please, he says to Norwegian NRK, according to Aftonbladet.
Jörgen Borgren believes that if all Olympic countries had done as Sweden does, there would have been very few active participants during the competitions.
– In Sweden, you almost have to be a medal candidate to participate a second time, he says, and is supported by Atle Guttormsen, who is the father and coach of the pole vaulters Sondre and Simen Guttormsen, who both compete in the Olympics.
– The demands they make are hair-raising, he says.
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