Olaf Tufte reveals that their Italian opponents used all the dirty tricks in the book during the test heat in Tokyo on Friday.
TOKYO (Nettavisen): The heat ended with great disappointment for the Norwegian double four, while Poland and Italy could cheer for a place in the final after rowing first over the finish line at the rowing arena in Japan.
Olaf Tufte now reveals that Luca Rambaldi in the Italian double four tried to put out the Norwegian team and the rest of the field during the regatta.
– We can not spend energy on the others. That Italy is sitting and screaming under the bridge to try to scare us .. come on, a! They are some boys, says Tufte to a united Norwegian press corps after the competition.
Notified before start
The Italian team took the lead from the start in the trial heat, and eventually advanced to the final despite being distanced by Poland just before the finish line.
Also read: Best of all, but after the race came a clear warning: – Unfair
Tufte says he warned his teammates Erik Solbakken, Martin Helseth and Oscar Helvig that if they heard any amusements along the way, it would be from Luca Rambaldi on the Italian team.
– I told the guys at the start that if there is anyone who is howling, it is the cuckoo next to him. I knew it was going to happen. He thinks he is cool, and tries to scare people, says the veteran.
– Did you have an argument going on?
– No, no, but there are some who think they are a little cooler than others. They howl and scream and think they are outpacing the competition. I had expected him to do it, but here it happens under the bridge where there is an echo, says the 45-year-old, who points out that he was not affected by it.
– I give a damn. He is not that big and ugly.
Disagree with the coach
Coach Kjetil Undset said right after the disappointing result that the Norwegian boys had been taken to bed a bit by the competition format in the Olympics.
He thought it was unusual that there is only one trial heat and then straight to the final and no semi-final in between. However, Tufte disagrees with the coach.
– We prepared very well the last week and drove a 2000-meter yesterday with rising just to be a little more race-ready and not use an attempt, he says to Nettavisen.
Also read: Such is the program for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo
– Our plan was clear, we were to use this as a semi-final and just stick to it. We did the best we could today, but it was only 80 percent. It does not hold, we have to get up, says the 39-year-old.
Tufte made no secret of the fact that it was a disappointed rog gang that was left in the boat after fourth place in the attempt.
– It was demanding and not quite what we hoped for. Now we have rowed the way we rowed, so now we can not take it back. There’s a second chance on Sunday, so we’ll just gather. A little awkward opening race than we hoped for, but we can choose to sit down and laugh or prepare for Sunday, he says.
– Let’s see if we are men
The super veteran is excited about how Friday’s failure will turn out, when they go out in a collection heat on Sunday. It is the last chance to reach the Olympic final.
– Self-confidence is fresh. If you get a good session, you are suddenly up and you have several good sessions in a row, you start to gain proper confidence and you like to brush off bad sessions more easily.
– When it’s like 50/50, you’re a little more ailing. This can affect us, but we will see what lives in us, whether we are aspen leaves or whether we are men.
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