Dale Oen hopes win will lift trauma-hit Norway
July 26, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOR a minute or two, Norwegian swimmer Alexander Dale Oen was able to block out the massacre that has traumatized his home country and focus on nothing but the pool.
As soon as he won the gold in the men's 100-meter breaststroke at the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai yesterday, however, he pointed to the Norwegian flag on his cap and then rose out of the water and flexed his biceps - a show of strength to his countrymen back home. "We need to stay united," he said. "Everyone back home now is of course paralyzed with what happened but it was important for me to symbolize that even though I'm here in China, I'm able to feel the same emotions."
Dale Oen won in a time of 58.71 seconds, with Italy's Fabio Scozzoli taking silver in 59.42 and Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa winning the bronze in 59.49. Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima of Japan could only manage fourth place.
The Norwegian, the silver medalist in the same event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said it's been incredibly difficult for him to concentrate on swimming this week in the wake of the bombing and shooting spree in Norway that killed 93 people.
He's been asked repeatedly about the attacks and teared up several times. At the press conference following his victory, he wore a black piece of tape around the sleeve of his T-shirt, just below the Norwegian flag. "I guess I was racing a little bit more with my heart today than I was technically," he said.
Dale Oen said the Norwegian team has comforted one another throughout the week. "I just tried to use what happened back home as fuel and try to think that we just need to push forward and we really need just to let everyday life come back. We can't let this guy ruin the future for us," the 26-year-old added, referring to Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who has confessed to the twin terrorist attacks.
On the medal stand, though, the feelings came rushing back and he wiped away a tear. "I was just thinking about those back home and seeing the flag and hearing the national anthem, really," he said. "Even though it's been three or four days now, it's still a shock."
As soon as he won the gold in the men's 100-meter breaststroke at the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai yesterday, however, he pointed to the Norwegian flag on his cap and then rose out of the water and flexed his biceps - a show of strength to his countrymen back home. "We need to stay united," he said. "Everyone back home now is of course paralyzed with what happened but it was important for me to symbolize that even though I'm here in China, I'm able to feel the same emotions."
Dale Oen won in a time of 58.71 seconds, with Italy's Fabio Scozzoli taking silver in 59.42 and Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa winning the bronze in 59.49. Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima of Japan could only manage fourth place.
The Norwegian, the silver medalist in the same event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said it's been incredibly difficult for him to concentrate on swimming this week in the wake of the bombing and shooting spree in Norway that killed 93 people.
He's been asked repeatedly about the attacks and teared up several times. At the press conference following his victory, he wore a black piece of tape around the sleeve of his T-shirt, just below the Norwegian flag. "I guess I was racing a little bit more with my heart today than I was technically," he said.
Dale Oen said the Norwegian team has comforted one another throughout the week. "I just tried to use what happened back home as fuel and try to think that we just need to push forward and we really need just to let everyday life come back. We can't let this guy ruin the future for us," the 26-year-old added, referring to Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who has confessed to the twin terrorist attacks.
On the medal stand, though, the feelings came rushing back and he wiped away a tear. "I was just thinking about those back home and seeing the flag and hearing the national anthem, really," he said. "Even though it's been three or four days now, it's still a shock."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
