Hanna Öberg and Martin Ponsiluoma are not only teammates in the Swedish national biathlon team, but also a couple in their private lives. Things are going up for them at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The biathlon competitions will take place at the 2026 Olympics in Antholz. The event location in South Tyrol is at an altitude of 1,600 meters and therefore presents the athletes with a special challenge.
“During the World Cup I find it very difficult to compete in Antholz because you have no opportunity to prepare for the altitude,” Hanna Öberg told the newspaper “Expressen”.
The two-time Olympic champion recently skipped the World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, in order to prepare for the Winter Games with the Swedish national biathlon team in the training camp.
Her partner Martin Ponsiluoma can cope with the altitude in Antholz “very well. There are other athletes who can cope with it better than me, that’s the way it is. But I also know that it’s actually not a problem if I have the opportunity to prepare and acclimatize. Then I would say that Antholz is a route that suits me quite well,” said Öberg.
“I think it’s genetic, you either can handle the altitude or you can’t,” said Ponsiluoma about the Olympic challenge.
Bronze medal at the Biathlon World Championships in Antholz
Öberg has definitely fond memories of Antholz. The ski hunter won the bronze medal in the mass start at the 2020 Biathlon World Championships here. “By then I had gotten used to the altitude and was in very good shape. There were other things that prevented me from winning a medal earlier in this competition,” Öberg reflected.
The 30-year-old already won the sprint in Annecy and Ruhpolding this biathlon winter. Öberg can have corresponding hopes for the 2026 Olympics. Ponsiluoma came third in the pursuit in Ruhpolding.
*We use affiliate links in this post. If you purchase a product via these links, we receive a commission from the provider. There are no additional costs for you. Where and when you buy a product is of course up to you.
