Sand volleyball player Emily Olmstad and teammate Soneva Hyland Hansen have had some exciting days.
The duo were supposed to fly from a training session in Portugal to Morocco, and take part in the Challenger Championship in Agadir, but that idea has already stalled at passport control at Marrakesh airport.
Even with losing potentially precious points on the way to the Olympics, a night out with strangers.
Of course, this is very sad and boring. I am very disappointed with the situation, but at the same time, I only blame myself for being in this situation here, Emily Olmstad tells NRK, who was just stranded at the airport in Marrakech, Morocco two days ago.
Safer to have someone there
Olmstad was able to get on the plane from Portugal without showing his passport. When she landed in Marrakesh and was under passport control, she found out that she was lost, and could not get out of the city.
Without a passport, Olmstad cannot enter the country.
So Helland-Hansen chose to return to Norway, while Olimstad was still trying to solve the passport issue.
The Norwegian embassy was contacted, but Olmstad was unable to obtain an emergency passport without actually visiting the embassy. Of course, she could not do that because she could not enter the country.
SATSAR: Olmstad and Heiland Hansen were ranked 9th, and the tournament in Agadir was an important tournament to get more points and a better ranking.
Photo: IVO GONZALEZ FOR OIS / HANDOUT IOC
So Olmstad was taken to the transit area at the airport, and then moved to a room where she could sleep.
– I got a room with another lady who has two children, and I had to share a bed with her. The mother was immediately upset, but we just had to take advantage of her. Olmstad says it was safer to have someone there, rather than being completely alone.
– Did you feel insecure?
– There was only one door, you couldn’t lock it, the police came all the time and didn’t speak English. Olmstad says they shook their heads when she called for help.
The night until Friday was also spent at the airport, but then without a place to sleep.
– Then maybe I slept for an hour, she continues.
I found a solution
When NRK called Olmstad on Friday, the sand volleyball player had finally boarded a plane to Portugal. It landed on Friday morning.
– Then the police followed me all the way, and I was greeted by someone who was supposed to pass me through passport control. Then they said I shouldn’t travel to Morocco at all as a blonde alone, she said.
Volgi: Here’s the police Olmstad had to accompany.
Photo: private
She also received that letter from another passenger at Marrakesh airport.
On Friday evening, Olmstad will fly to Norway. The passport was found on his way home.
– I’m fine now. If I’m going to complain, I really want to take a shower. She says I m so happy because I am going home now.
The Challenger Championship, which the duo was initially supposed to participate in, was important with the goal of getting good points towards Olympic qualification for Paris in 2024, which begins in October.
– There were many teams that could not compete in this tournament, so it is stupid that we do not have the opportunity to do so. Perhaps the most boring thing, she says, was that it was hot.
She gets support from her teammate.
– We really feel it goes against the flow. Now it would be nice to breathe a bit before we lash out again together,” Hyland Hansen wrote on his Instagram profile.
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