Sander Skotheim won his first senior medal when he took EC silver in the indoor heptathlon last year.
On Sunday evening, he has the opportunity to win his first WC gold.
Then the task is clear: He must beat Swiss Simon Ehammer with 154 points in the final 1000 metres, which based on Skotheim’s personal record (2.37.63) corresponds to 14.3 seconds.
Ehammer’s personal record for the distance, 2.49.78, is just over twelve seconds behind Skotheim’s pers. Both of them have personal records set earlier this year.
– It will be hard, but we have to try, says coach Eirik Røe.
You can watch the decisive 1000 meters on NRK1 at 21.45:
With, among other things, the men’s final of 1500 meters directly from Glasgow.
In addition, Skotheim must not be beaten by more than three seconds by Estonian Johannes Erm, who has a personal record of 2.36.02.
– We have to find the balance in how hard we can open without cracking. We haven’t quite nailed it. We get to spend some time in the warm-up and make a final plan for it, says Røe.
Geir Moen is the only Norwegian to have won gold in the Indoor World Championships before. He did that when he won the 200 meters in 1995.
A new golden chance for the Norwegian athletes comes at 22.30. Narve Gilje Nordås will then run in the 1,500 meter final, which he predicts will be “a hell of a mess”.
– Hope you get to the finish line
NRK’s athletics expert Vebjørn Rodal takes a negative view of Skotheim’s gold chances and believes there is less than a ten percent chance of the 21-year-old going all the way to the top.
– I think it will be tough to take gold. It is not impossible, but he has to beat Simon Ehammer by 14.5 seconds in the 1000 metres. It is much. It is an ocean. He has a personal record that is 12.5 seconds better, so it is not completely impossible, but it must be done, says Rodal.
When Skotheim spoke to NRK on Saturday, he was ready to give what he had.
– I am prepared for it to be a bad affair, he said on Saturday, and continued:
– It’s just a matter of driving out from the start and hoping that you get to the finish line, said the 21-year-old.
Rodal: Underperformed in several exercises
In a heptathlon, there are naturally many moments that can be decisive. One of them came in the pole vault earlier Sunday.
In the pole vault, Skotheim has a better personal record (5.35) than Ehammer (5.21), but on Sunday it was Ehammer who jumped 5.20, while Skotheim had to settle for 5.10.
Especially in the last attempt of 5.20, Skotheim was very close to going over, which would have meant that he would have had around three seconds less to catch up on Ehammer in the 1000 metres.
– Do you think it could be decisive, Rodal?
– Yes, not only that, but he has also underperformed in relation to his maximum level in both height and pole. And heck earlier Sunday morning. It is he himself who has made the starting point before the last exercise a little difficult in terms of gold, believes the athletics expert.
– All-around competition is about being at the top in all exercises. When he is not and still fights for the gold, it says something about the fact that he has established himself at a very high level, says Rodal further.
PS! Markus Rooth was in fifth place after six out of seven exercises, but suffered a slight injury to his thigh after the last jump in the pole vault competition. He has therefore chosen to withdraw from the final 1000 metres.
Scandalous scenes in the World Cup: – Oi! It is extremely dangerous!
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