Jesper Nelin, Martin Ponsiluoma, Hanna Öberg: Nelin opens with a relationship drama

Hanna Öberg and Jesper Nelin posed in a joint photo in 2019, when the relationship was on the decline. PDO

Swedish Olympic champion in biathlon men’s relay Jesper Nelin30, thought her relationship was on the line for the Swedish women’s biathlon team Hanna Öberg’s27, until during the 2020–21 season he heard the crushing news: Öberg and Nelin’s teammate Martin Ponsiluma27, had ended up in the same bed.

– No one wants to hear that. I really wasn’t happy, because that’s not a very common pattern, says Nelin.

Ponsiluoma and Öberg announced their relationship on the eve of the 2021–22 season.

– Team spirit rippled from top to bottom when the matter was brought up.

Grieving Nelin found solace a little over a year ago of Fanny Johansson, 24. She is a biathlon skier and Ponsiluoma’s ex-girlfriend.

– Now we are dating Fanny. It’s really nice, and we don’t have any problems, says Nelin.

Your relationship twists and turns are like something from a soap opera…

– It’s a strange situation. Of course, it wasn’t easy for anyone at first, but as far as I can tell, everyone has dealt with it now and is on board with it.

What kind of relationship do you have with Ponsiluoma?

– The last two years my relationship with Martin has not been super, but this season has actually gone very well. The spirit of the national team is also good now, Nelin answers.

Second best

On Saturday in Kontiolahti, Nelin took the second best personal ranking of his career in the World Cup, when he was eighth in the 10 km race.

– I was very satisfied with the shooting. There were some difficulties with the aiming shots, so compared to that it was really good, said Nelin, who survived with one penalty.

Winner Johannes Bö clocked 1:02.1 better final time than the Swede. In cross-country skiing, Nelin was eleventh (+46.1). Bö was the fastest.

– The training season has gone really well. The absolute goal is to take the next step in my career, said the man who was at best number seven in the World Cup.

In 2018, the Swedish men won the relay gold at the Korean Olympic Games, while the German Wolfgang Pichler was at the helm. The respected veteran retired a couple of years ago and a new head coach was chosen Johannes Lukas.

– A lot has changed. Johannes is much easier to approach and he is much more conversational than the dictatorial Wolfgang. But it was really good to have Wolfgang in Sweden, because we did a lot of high-quality basic training and created excellent foundations. Johannes has now made fine adjustments, Nelin describes.