“It was frustrating”
Dog bites athlete in the leg – weeks of break necessary
Updated on September 26, 2025 – 8:40 a.m.Reading time: 1 min.
Actually wanted to start at the half marathon in Copenhagen in mid -September. But a dog bite forced him to take a break.
An unfortunate incident thwarted the plans of Per Svela. The Norwegian athlete wanted to compete in the half marathon in Copenhagen in autumn. But a dog bit him in his leg and stopped him in the middle of the preparation.
“This is terribly annoying,” Svela told NRK. After a difficult start to the season, he had found his shape in August and worked towards the race for several weeks. While his training partners started in Tokyo at the Athletics World Cup, the 33-year-old concentrated on the street race in the Danish capital.
But when warming up for an interval unit, he was bitten into his knee by a leashed dog. Svela got a tetanus vaccination, treatment with penicillin and could hardly walk for several days. Although he had hoped to be able to get back into training quickly, it was out of the question. “The leg was stiff, very sensitive and the wound inflamed so that I could only limp. It was frustrating,” said Svela. The whole preparation was in vain.
The runner, who likes dogs very much and previously owned several, reported the incident to the police. The investigation is underway. However, the police did not want to give any details on request from NRK.