King Harald and his crew will sail on the boat “Sira” in the World Championships for 8 meters in Geneva, Switzerland, at the end of this month.
In the list of participants, King Harald is listed as the captain of the ship “Sira”, with a crew of six other people.
The World 8m Championships will be held in Geneva from 25-30 July.
Castle confirms, upon questions from NRK, the king’s participation.
– The king is set to take part in the world championships later this summer, says assistant director of communications Sven Geroldsen at the royal court.
was in training
Thus, the King will be at the World Cup five months after turning 85 in February this year – and a year and a half after he underwent leg surgery in January last year.
King was admitted to the Rikschuspitalt in January last year for surgery on an injured tendon in his right knee.
– Geroldsen says the king is fine now.
– Throughout the spring, the King and his crew trained with Serra in the Inland Oslovjord.
King Harald and his Serra crew finished third in their class when the World 8m Sailing Championships ended in Lake Constance, Germany in 2018.
Photo: FELIX KASTLE / DPA / NTB
Norwegian Sailing Federation: – Great fun
“We at Norwegian Sailing greatly appreciate that King is active even at the age of 85,” Per Christian Bordahl, general secretary of the Norwegian Sailing Federation, tells NRK.
– Sailing can be practiced in many ways, and we have many different boat lessons. And in the 8-meter class, active 85-year-olds can also participate and assert themselves. It’s so much fun to be the king with, says Bordahl.
Bordahl describes King Harald as a good ambassador for the sport. He believes that the King, with his long experience in sailing, still has good chances to be able to assert himself at the World Cup in the 8m class.
When King Harald and his crew aboard the Sierra competed in the World 8-meter Championships in Germany four years ago, they finished third.
I play more and better at sea
There is no doubt that King Harald grows in a boat. When the 18th birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s granddaughter was celebrated with a grand dinner at the palace in June, the king gave clear advice for the jubilee:
– Don’t forget to play! At least I have good experience with it. I play, you know, more and better at sea. And fortunately you thrive there too, said the king.
But it wasn’t just a game. King Harald has had a long and eventful sporting career – which therefore continues with participation in this summer’s World Cup.
He was called the “King of the Seas”.
He was an active sailor for 75 years. Prince Harald, as he was at the time, was only ten years old when he first competed as a crew, according to Kongehuset.no.
King Harald started sailing early. Here he is with his mother, Princess Martha, in the summer of 1939.
Photo: NTB
World Cup gold and Olympic retreat
Since then, there have been countless competitions and tournaments, and he has won both European Championships and the World Cup.
However, in a meeting with another world champion, Karsten Warholm – who won the World Cup and Olympic gold in the 400-meter hurdles – King Harald revealed that he is not proud of what he has achieved, despite previous victories at the World Cup.
– No, not really. If I had accomplished something in the Olympics, I would have been happy, but now I am not happy. This is the big failure. The king frankly answered some Olympic medals.
For King Harald he has competed in the Olympics three times, in 1964, 1968 and 1972, but never a medal.
Then Crown Prince Harald was the flag bearer of Norway during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Photo: NTB
Prior to the 1972 Munich Olympics, the King and his crew were highly favored. The descent when there was no medal was so great that he took a longer break from sailing.
But since then he has resumed the sport he loves so much, participating in new races and championships, at the same time as first crown prince and then full-time king.
– I’ve never been a top athlete! I have never Just King Harald said when he met Karsten Warholm on the NRK series “Karsten and Leif”, prompted by it.
Then Warholm thought the king was too humble.
– You read it as if you wanted it, and you won and therefore you have the mentality of a great athlete, but in the role you must be your majesty too. But you would be a great athlete if you could choose? Warholm asked.
“Yes, I would have been the opposite,” said King Harald then.
In 2017, King Harald (left) participated in the World Cup Sailing Championships aboard Hankow with Sera. The tournament was held in conjunction with the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the king that year.
Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
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