– They can only blame themselves – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– Perhaps the Norwegian Biathlon Federation wants to retire already?

This is how Johannes Thingness Poe responds to the fact that the Biathlon Federation has once again failed to apply for the World Cup on its own home.

It was announced this week that Oslo is not among the cities bidding to host the Biathlon World Cup in 2027, although biathlon chief Arne Horten has previously submitted a bid. He left He promised that Norway would fight for this special tournament.

Two years ago, Horten admitted that Norway missed the application deadline when it wanted to host the World Cup in Oslo in 2025, and therefore should apply for the world championship in 2027.

But this was not true.

– very junk

Thingnes Bø had already signaled the end of his career after the 2026 Olympics, but he kept his door open to experience a folk festival at home the following year.

He is now closing that door.

– It was in many ways a final point for me, he tells NRK.

What happened behind the scenes, it’s not entirely easy to find out.

Biathlon chair Horten, Morten A. Djupvik, and Secretary General of the Biathlon Association and the Oslo Municipal Sports Agency, Omar Jamal, have very different versions of why Oslo has not yet been implemented.

The two sides agree that they met last fall, but the agreement stops there as well.

– It doesn’t make sense, says Jamal, a member of the sports agency’s board, and laughs when he gets the right version of the association.

They allegedly received a bad response

Biathlon chief Horten’s explanation is that they have not received any commitments from the municipality, and that this is part of the reason why no application was ever made.

– There was little response in the municipality to arrange the World Cup. We are disappointed with that. We expected more positivity about it.

Horten says Holmenkolen should be upgraded with grandstand capacity and floodlights, and that the assembly and Oslo municipality have not come to terms with this, something that was a prerequisite to being able to progress to the World Cup.

– You could say we should fight more, but we think it shouldn’t be necessary. The WC is a big event that should be cheering in Oslo for the WC Biathlon Championship.

This is why the sports agency uses the phrase “nonsense”. He has a completely different perception of what happened.

– They have to blame themselves

– They can only blame themselves. It’s just one mistake. Jamal replied: We had an open attitude towards them.

The sports agency says that the Biathlon Association held a presentation to the municipality, and that the municipality, following the Baths Federation, submitted a written request. They wanted an overview of the budget, what they wanted from the city of Oslo, and what they envisioned that the event could provide added value to the city’s residents.

– We cannot base our ratings on a presentation he has given us before. They need to take the initiative a little more. Jamal says here they simply messed it up again.

– They are invited to submit what they are asked to submit, so this should be considered in the same way as other major leagues, he says.

Taji Bou has also stunned the efforts of the Biathlon Federation regarding the implementation of the World Cup.

– I expected more aggressiveness and courage from the Biathlon Society. You never get a job you don’t apply for, it’s that simple. Had I received this letter, I would have at least been excited to submit an application that would have been impossible to refuse.

Shoulder over verbal advice

NRK has seen the written medical dialogue between the association and the municipality.

It appears that on November 29 last year, the municipality of Oslo asked General Secretary Morten A. Djupvik to come back to them with more details:

« Feel free to bring what you see diving to apply for grants from the municipality and the state, and also mention other things they want the municipality to contribute, for example, free rent of the facility, assistance with the facility during tournaments and emergency kit (to name a few) . Also what they see to dive improvements into the facility (this is the facility to me municipality so they don’t need to apply for grants, but it’s good to know a little about the scope). “

The special counselor of the municipality also attached the wrestling federation’s World Cup request, so that the biathlon federation would see how it could be dissolved, but the federation never sent what was encouraged.

Djupvik told NRK that he was orally advised not to apply to the municipality for water phase subsidies.

– We made the World Cup. But we were clearly advised not to apply now because the time is too short. And we must, of course, wear a cloak, which we must get out early. But the thing is, we are totally dependent on the municipality of Oslo being our host if we want to apply. And the Secretary-General says there was certainly no mood for that during the meeting.

He does not remember who advised the association not to apply.

The result, however, is that the 2027 World Cup will be held either in Estonia, Otepää or in Kontiolahti, Finland.

Now Ingrid Landmark crosses Tendrifold for the Norwegian Biathlon Federation for an application before the tournament deadline in 2028.

My biggest dream is to experience the World Cup at home.