SHANGHAI — For a minute or two, Norwegian swimmer Alexander Dale Oen blocked out the massacre and concentrated on nothing but the pool.
Then, as soon as he won the 100-meter breaststroke Monday at the world championships, he pointed to the Norwegian flag on his cap. He rose from the water and flexed his biceps — a show of strength to those back home.
“We need to stay united,” he said. “Everyone back home now is of course paralyzed with what happened. But it was important for me to symbolize that even though I’m here in China, I’m able to feel the same emotions.”
Dale Oen, the silver medalist in this event at the 2008 Olympics, won in 58.71 seconds.
Dale Oen said it has been especially difficult to dwell on swimming after the bombing and shooting spree in Norway that killed 93 people.
He has been asked repeatedly about the attacks and teared up several times. At the news conference after his victory, he wore black tape around his T-shirt sleeve, just below the Norwegian flag.
“I guess I was racing a little bit more with my heart today than I was technically,” he said.
The Associated Press
