Actually, Elvira Öberg is one of the best biathletes in the world. However, after a forced break at the World Championships in Oberhof, the Swede suddenly showed unusual weaknesses. Father Tomas Öberg now expressed a suspicion.
“We suspect that she has post-Covid and that is what has held her back,” the Swedish newspaper Expressen quoted the family member as saying.
Elvira Öberg had to cancel several competitions at the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof due to illness and ultimately only started in three races. The 24-year-old won her only medal with bronze in the relay.
“At the World Cup, she wasn’t nearly as productive as usual,” summed up her father. Tomas Öberg is now critical of the start of the women’s relay in Oberhof. Although his daughter won a medal, “we believe that it has an impact on the body,” said the Scandinavian.
Disappointing biathlon season finale
At the end of the season, Elvira Öberg suffered several setbacks in biathlon. Instead of fighting for the overall World Cup, the 2022 relay Olympic champion often found herself at the bottom of the field. At the season finale at the legendary Holmenkollen in Oslo, Elvira Öberg only finished a disappointing 72nd place in the sprint.
In the end, the Swede finished the overall biathlon world cup behind Julia Simon (France/1093 points), Dorothea Wierer (Italy/911), Lisa Vittozzi (Italy/882) and Denise Herrmann-Wick (Germany/874) with 764 points in fifth place rank down.
In the coming season, Elvira Öberg will again be one of the big favorites in biathlon. “We have to hope that she has recovered when it’s time to start hard training again,” father Tomas Öberg told “Expressen”. First of all, his daughter has to get really fit again.