The Norwegian Johan-Olav Botn made his debut in the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof. However, the young hopeful experienced a nightmare weekend.
In his first appearance on the big biathlon stage, Botn showed nerves. The 24-year-old made a major mistake in the sprint and ran four penalty laps instead of three.
In the pursuit, Botn made a false start and earned a 30-second penalty. He was also supported while warming up.
“For me it was a slap in the face, it’s an amateur mistake that I shouldn’t make,” he said, referring to his extra lap in the sprint at “Aftonbladet”. The shooting star added: “There are mistakes that you can’t make at this level.”
Botn openly admitted that he couldn’t cope with the high pressure in Oberhof. “I’m a debutant, but people expect me to get podiums and be at the top, but it’s not that easy,” he noted, adding: “I feel the pressure and I’m very tense at the shooting range.”
Biathlon jewel Botn fastest on the trail
In the sprint, Botn came in 26th place at his premiere, and in the pursuit he came 24th. Remarkable: In both races, the youngster was able to record the fastest running time of all participants.
“I was the fastest of all in both races,” said Botn, who emphasized: “I want to take everything with me and build on it.”
In the second-class IBU Cup, the Norwegian has landed on the podium in every race so far, and he has even been on the podium as winner six times. “In the IBU Cup, even though I shot poorly, I was rewarded because I went so fast,” noted Botn. Therefore, “the slap in the face” is important for his development.
The expectations of the exceptional talent are huge in Norway.
“Botn has [im IBU-Cup] won everything there was to win. And he has a running form that allows him to keep up with Johannes Thingnes Bø even on one of the top top days,” biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjørndalen recently raved about the 24-year-old’s running strength to “TV2”.