Stig-André Berge (40) bet everything he had on getting to the Olympics in Rio in 2016, and fought his way to a bronze medal that meant more to him than any other medal.
In NRK’s most recent episode of “Summer in P2” the wrestler opens up about exactly why this meant so much to him.
Married with an identical twin: – Been tricked
– The fact that I won bronze is a part of my wrestling career that was very important to me, but before that we have to go through some events and a time that was very difficult, he says at the beginning of the podcast.
He spent four hard years preparing for the Olympics, and the last two years did not go as expected.
Convicted of murder
On 6 June 2015, Stig-Andre’s father killed his new wife, the wrestlers’ stepmother. On the same day, the Norwegian wrestling ace was to be the toastmaster at a wedding, and it was on the way into the church that the news that a woman had been killed in Stig-André’s housing association at Rødtvet in Oslo ticked in.
Hidden damage: – No one knew about it
The father admitted the act and was later convicted of the murder of his care-requiring wife, who in 2013 was paralyzed from the waist down after a failed back operation.
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The way to the goal
One year later, and just a month before Olympic qualification, his mother is in hospital with cancer, and the wrestler has to take the first flight home from a training camp in Turkey.
– We had five days in the hospital before she fell asleep. Right then and there I had made up my mind, I was going to continue, and my last words to my mother were: I will continue towards our goal, I will win that medal in the Olympics. I felt pretty tough to say it when I didn’t qualify for the Olympics.
He says that the Olympiatoppen had given him a clear message that nothing must happen before the Olympics, such as breaking up or moving.
Paying tribute to his late mother: – The most important
– Now I had almost done everything. I had moved and lost two of my most important ones, but I still had faith that I would reach my goal. I qualified for the Olympics, and disproved what the Olympiatoppen had said. It should be possible to achieve your goals no matter what happens, as long as you have the right focus, he says in conclusion.
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Stig-André Berge is aware that Se og Hør is covering the case, but does not wish to comment.
Grateful
During his career there have been two King’s Cups, three silvers in the EC and bronze in the WC. Berge’s bronze medal in the Olympics is Norway’s first Olympic medal in wrestling in 24 years.
– Not easy to talk about
In his portrait interview in NRK’s ”Master of Masters”, he took the time, among other things, to thank those who have helped him to where he is now.
– I would never be the athlete I am today if it hadn’t been for my parents, says Berge.
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2023-07-31 20:37:02
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