– Just the fact that he chose to go public in an interview and lied that I haven’t apologized for promoting himself and slandered me when it wasn’t true… That says a lot about a person.

Hilde Mikkelsen Haugen’s powerlifting profile once again found herself forced to get the knife out of her mouth and led to harsh criticism in the Norwegian Powerlifting Association.

Earlier this month, NRK reported on the ongoing conflict between the two sideswhich means Haugen now has no place in the national team.

The statement from association sports manager Lars Edvin Samnøy in the NRK case left Haugen shaking his head. He believed that Samnøy lied in the interview.

– It’s okay we disagree about things, I can live with that. But when someone chooses to do it that way, it says a lot about that person. I’ve also been harsh and criticized, but I’ve never said anything I couldn’t stand up for, the powerlifter told NRK.

Think he has proof

Haugen won EC gold recently last year, and he has been part of the national team for several years, but he has yet to represent Norway in the most recent championships.

To understand the conflict that now means he has no place in the national team, we have to go back to November.

Then Haugen published a post on Facebook, in which he criticized his own association. He wrote, among other things, that he felt “more opposed than rewarded by national team management”.

Haugen himself understood he had gone too far, so he apologized via email, among other things, to the association’s sporting director. A few months later, he sent another email in which he wrote sorry, but in the aforementioned NRK interview, Samnøy still claims he never apologized.

– That is not true. He didn’t have the slightest bit of regret, and he was now showing that he hadn’t moved on, were his words.

And this is what has now led Haugen to accuse the sports manager of lying.

– So you’re saying Samnøy lied in the interview with NRK?

– Yes, I mean that. Very clear in the email I sent.

NRK has noticed that the email, among other things, has been sent to Lars Edvin Samnøy’s email address.

NRK had confronted Samnøy with all of Haugen’s statements, including that he had accused him of lying, but he did not wish to answer any of the accusations. The sports manager referred more to the official statement from the Norwegian Powerlifting Association, which was signed by association president Inger Blikra.

– We do not quite recognize the description he gave, he wrote, among other things.

You can read the full statement in the box below:

– Banned for life

After the infamous Facebook update in November, and the first apology via email, it was suggested the parties would meet to discuss matters, but the invitation to a meeting with federal leadership came with a few conditions, Haugen claims.

Samnøy demanded an apology, which Haugen said he had accepted, but according to the 30-year-old, also should not bring anything up from the conflict that had occurred.

– The criterion for the meeting was mainly that the apology existed – and it was. Number two is not being allowed to talk about what happened. We should only talk about how good and beautiful things are. That made me say “no thanks, I’m not interested in that”.

– I don’t think the venue (for the meeting) will lead anywhere. “It’s just to blame me, it’s very one-sided on their part,” he added.

Since the powerlifter would not meet these requirements, he was also not offered a new national team contract. Haugen said he was willing to “clean and tidy”, but would not have the opportunity to do so while Samnøy was sporting director.

– As long as he can decide, I might be banned for life.

– So childish

Haugen said Samnøy responded to the apology, and believed he was did not show any form of reconciliation and therefore a return to the national team was out of the question.

– The focus is more on me coming with a reasonable apology, rather than addressing the criticism that comes. And then keeping silent at meetings where it’s not allowed to address the issue… I think that’s cowardly and pointless. Then we sat there again. How does that get anything done?

– What do you think about it?

– I’m lying as flat as I can. I think that’s very childish. That says something about the fact that she doesn’t really want to clean. He had made up his mind.

Even though Haugen is now outside the national team, the plan is to compete in NM week which you can watch NK this week. However, the championship with the national team will have to wait, as is the situation now.

– I don’t think that the punishment I received is in accordance with what I have done. I wish some of the other adults at work saw it too, concludes the winning EC.

• PS: Hilde Mikkelsen Haugen won NM gold in powerlifting (57 kilogram class) on Wednesday night.