The Swedish national biathlon team is star-studded this season. There is talk of a “luxury problem” within the team. An expert sees the athletes under pressure.
There are eight ski hunters on the Swedish biathlon team, but in the World Cup there are only six starting places in the individual races.
Elvira Öberg, Hanna Öberg, Ella Halvarsson, Anna Magnusson and Linn Gestblom were called up early for the season opener in Östersund. Head coach Johannes Lukas, however, initially left sixth place open.
Johanna Skottheim, Sara Andersson and Anna-Karin Heijdenberg had to wait longer than usual to get clarity.
Andersson was chosen for the biathlon individual on Tuesday. The 22-year-old ended up in 50th place after a total of six shooting errors. “I think that’s how it will go this season. If there are eight women for six places, the selection will probably take a little more time. You have to adjust to it and accept that the situation is like that,” Andersson told the TV station “SVT” in advance about the big competition.
Their preparation was not disrupted by the wait, said Andersson. “I probably wouldn’t have done anything differently anyway. You’re going to compete anyway, either in the World Cup or the IBU Cup,” she explained.
Biathlon expert sees pressure
Andersson tries to see the competition in his own biathlon team positively: “I actually think that it has made us all a little better. It’s great that we have so many good girls. That’s actually just a luxury problem.”
Swedish biathlon expert Mona Brorsson sees Andersson and Co. under pressure.
“You have a season ahead of you that is full of pressure! There is no scope for bad shooting series or even just bad days. Here you have to be in top shape every day,” analyzed the 2022 Olympic relay champion on “SVT”.