Norwegian athletes competing in the track and field World Championship in Doha, Qatar experienced a difficult arrival earlier this week and it wasn’t just because of the heat. When they got to their hotel rooms, they were met by the smell of raw sewage, mildew in the bathrooms “and terribly unhygienic” conditions,” according to the head of the Norwegian athletic federation Erlend Slokvik.
“We were given rooms that were absolutely not what we’d been shown on an earlier visit,” Skokvik told Norwegian media. “We were not satisfied, to put it mildly.”
Several of the athletes immediately left the rooms and returned to the lobby, afraid they’d become ill if they stayed in them. Federation officials agreed and scrambled to find another hotel for the entire contingent.
“We’ll have to pay the bill but we’ll file a complaint and demand compensation,” Slokvik told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). Athletes were also worried about the 40C heat, especially those due to compete in the 50-kilometer racewalking event on Saturday. Star hurdler Karsten Warholm was among the first to be put to the test in the first heat for the 400-meter hurdles on Friday.
newsinenglish.no staff
