The protest action of the “Last Generation” in Gurgl continues to keep the ski world on tenterhooks. The Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen attacked the activists – and now he is being scolded by an Austrian colleague.
Suddenly the snow was turned orange. Activists from the “Last Generation” took over the finish area of the slalom competition in Gurgl last weekend.
World champion Henrik Kristoffersen was furious: “Damn idiots, they’re destroying the race!” he shouted angrily and even threw snowballs at them. He was almost impossible to catch and was difficult to stop through the folders.
Kristoffersen: “They should disappear”
“We shouldn’t have people like that in the world, they should disappear. I would have hit him again if I had the chance,” he said on Norwegian TV.
“When I sense injustice, I have to act. There is no debate that climate is a big issue. But for the last four riders the race was destroyed. For us, skiing is a big dream, disrupting such an event is not right place,” he added on Instagram.
Schütter with accusations against the world champion
Kristoffersen’s actions and statements are a thorn in the side of at least one colleague. The Austrian speed specialist and climate activist Julian Schütter addressed Kristoffersen directly. “Henrik, you can think what you want about the protests and criticize them if you like. But ruling with violence was a big mistake,” he wrote to the angry Norwegian.
“It’s only human to make a mistake in emotionally charged situations like this, but I find it very problematic that you didn’t apologize afterwards and that many others are celebrating this outburst. With this glorification of violence, our sport falls far short of its role model influence “, says Schütter, who has been committed to climate protection for years.