Around three weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing, concerns are growing in the Norwegian biathlon team. The reason is the dramatic form crisis of superstar Johannes Thingnes Bö, who is now doubting himself.
The Biathlon World Cup weekend in Oberhof was again one to forget for Johannes Thingnes Bö. Although the Norwegian superstar won the mixed relay on Saturday, last year’s overall World Cup winner experienced another debacle in the two individual races.
Neither in the sprint (27th place) nor in the pursuit (21st) was the 28-year-old up to date. A big blow for him and the team so close to the Olympics.
“I’m not used to being so bad. I’m not used to being in such a situation,” Bö complained to the Norwegian media about his ongoing form crisis after the last race. He must now finally stop accepting the situation like that, “because that’s not how it should be,” the superstar sounded somewhat desperate.
Weakness at the shooting range as an alarm signal
But Bö doesn’t just have to worry about the completely screwed up Oberhof weekend. The 28-year-old has been chasing after his demands for the entire season – and for miles.
29th place in the Hochfilzen sprint, 20th place in the Annecy mass start and ninth place in the Östersund sprint are not what is expected of him. A single win in a single race this winter is simply not enough.
Most worrying is Evil’s weakness at the shooting range. It is not uncommon for him to make three, four or even more mistakes in a race this season. In the Oberhof sprint, he put on five penalties at the end, and two days later in the pursuit he put up another five tickets.
Before the races at the weekend he told the “Dagbladet” that he had put in extra shifts for shooting training over Christmas. That this obviously did not help is a real alarm signal.
“I have to stop crying”
“That was one of the blackest days of his career,” stated the Norwegian Andreas Stabrun Smith after the persecution. The fact that Bö performed so badly in the first races after the winter break was “not good,” warned Smith with a view to Beijing. Bö himself was at a loss and said to the “Dagbladet”: “That was not a good day. […] I ask myself [woran es gelegen hat]. “
He told the TV broadcaster “NRK” before: “This is really sad. I just have to get better. I have to stop crying and being sad.”
He wanted to pull himself out of the mess by the neck, assured Bo. But the time until the games in Beijing is running out. Whether the superstar will regain his shape by then and, as expected, will run for gold, silver and bronze, must be seriously doubted after the last few weeks.
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