The Norwegian Sturla Holm Lægreid is perhaps the biggest favorite to win the overall biathlon World Cup alongside Johannes Thingnes Bø. But shortly before the start of the new season, the 26-year-old was plagued by doubts because he still hasn’t found the “weapon he trusts”. His coach sees this critically.
As is well known, the rifle is one of the most important tools for a biathlete. This makes it all the more important to find the right weapon. The feel and weight have to be right so that the cartridges consistently hit the target. This will be a problem for Sturla Holm Lægreid, as the Norwegian is still in the discovery phase shortly before the start of the season.
“He’s welcome to change his mind about the weapon twice, that’s fine. But three or four changes in the last two weeks is a bit too much. I told him he has to stop doing that and concentrate on the important things. “To hit the targets,” Norway’s shooting coach Sigfried Mazet reacted angrily to his protégé’s “switch-weapon-game” in an interview with “TV2”.
“It was fun for a while, but now…”
“He has to make a decision now, a final one. […] It was fun for a while, but now we have to concentrate on the right things,” Mazet told the 26-year-old.
Lægreid himself sees things a little more relaxed. He said he didn’t think it made any difference in the end which weapon he used. The difference will be made much more by “the other work that I did in the summer. The weapon is just the icing on the cake,” said the overall World Cup runner-up last season.
In just a few days, Lægreid’s theory will be put to the test. The start of the new season will be given in Östersund on November 25th. Let’s start with the mixed relay. The 26-year-old should actually have secured his starting place in this one.