– Hypocrite not to mention that – VG

– I think it is strange that a tragedy or something painful that has affected an audience and a famous person is worse than a tragedy that has affected another and unknown person, says Karsten Warholm.

– It seems unfair to me that it is more important to me than to others, he adds.

Towards the end of the first episode of “Karsten and Leif”, as a preview of the second episode released by NRK on Sunday, Karsten Warholm sits with his longtime girlfriend Oda Djupvik on the porch of his apartment in Oslo. The recording was made earlier this summer, before “Impossible Games” in Bislett on June 11.

Warholm tells, addressed to Oda, about the SMS he received from her three years ago, and quotes it as follows: “I have cancer. Period, like.”

When she received the “Model of the Year” award almost two years ago during the Sports Gala, she revealed in her thank you speech that she had been “very ill.”

– I touched it then, it says today.

Oda Djupvik was present when Karsten Warholm won his first World Cup gold in london three years ago And when he won his second in a row in Doha last fall:

He also says that Djupvik is completely healthy from the disease and that “it is good”. She tells NRK that she was diagnosed with lymphoma.

– He was very shocked, because he had no symptoms, Djupvik recalls to NRK.

She is aware that VG is discussing the case, but does not want to comment further. She praises how Warholm handled the situation and says she was cancer-free just before her boyfriend’s first World Cup gold in 2017.

– It’s an incredibly happy story. I finished my last treatment the day I traveled to London. When we met after he won, it was the first time we met after I got rid of cancer. They had both won their match, we had fought together, Djupvik describes to NRK.

Since the 2019 Sports Gala, Warholm has occasionally been asked what he said then. But it has happened, and Karsten Warholm points out that those who have asked have respected that he did not want to say anything more about what he considers private.

– I have not wanted to talk about it, nor is it something that Oda has wanted to talk about. It has no public interest, says Karsten Warholm.

However, he thinks it would have been “a bit hypocritical” not to talk about it in a documentary about him. He sticks to the way he should appear and, in fact, be honest.

Karsten Warholm emphasizes that he does not care that no one, ie famous people, wants to share his private life. Understand that it may be in the public interest.

– This should not be perceived as criticism by others. What I want to say and what I want to defend is not necessarily a conclusion, he says.

For his part, he wants to be in public by virtue of his accomplishments on the sports field, and what he and Leif Olav Alnes take out of training to achieve sensational results.

– I have a private life, and I think “private” is self explanatory. But when people ask me (about private matters), I think “what about all the invisible heroes?” For me, this is a wish to shed light on it, says Karsten Warholm.

He says he has never seen his girlfriend Oda Djupvik as a public figure, nor does he want her to be. He says the most important and best thing for him is that the people who have always been around him remain as they were “before this took off.”

– Can you get too private, in the sense that you are very careful to be?

– No, my goal is to be who I am, regardless of the environment. I think I am a fairly open person. I don’t use much restraint, Karsten Warholm responds.

– Do you ever let yourself be surprised by private questions?

– I think it’s always a bit strange, because in my head it’s all about sports and performance. I hope the documentary is an investment in that. That our thoughts about it are most interesting. I think people are often underestimated in terms of what should be interesting, and most of my time is spent in training and competitions, he responds.

When asked if he and coach Leif Olav Alnes talk a lot about this – privacy, so to speak – Karsten Warholm replies that “Leif and I talk a lot”, but that it’s more like a chat with friends. They speak “when the problem arises.”

– That’s why we are rarely surprised. We have found a way to solve things, he says.

The first episode of “Karsten and Leif” contained largely a conversation about sports between King Harald, Karsten Warholm and Leif Olav Alnes. Karsten Warholm posed in shorts, to a cheery comment from the king. Warhom admits that being open to personal adversity and private problems can be a comfort to others in similar situations; that life is not just a sun for him either.

– I try to reflect on it. Why should my case seem more important? If it can have a comforting effect, that’s fine. For me, these cases are very private. I have no interest in being a public person to be a public person, he says.

He has “never, never” felt pressure from backers to show more of his private pages. On the contrary. He says he’s been in a fortunate position that way. What he has accomplished has been good enough. When asked about situations in which he has not felt comfortable, such as receiving prizes in a row, he answers in cash that he has not.

– I think it’s great to be recognized for my sporting achievements, says Karsten Warholm.

P.S! On Sunday night, Karsten Warholm makes a further attempt to erase Kevin Young’s 28-year-old world record in the 400m hurdles, which sounds at 46.78 seconds. At 17.45, the starting shot is fired in Berlin, where in 2018 he was proclaimed European champion in the distance. The race is shown on NRK.