Surprise at the Swedish biathlon championship: Anna-Karin Heijdenberg has hit world champion Elvira Öberg in the mass start.
Anna-Karin Heijdenberg prevailed on Saturday morning at the Swedish biathlon championship after two shooting errors ahead of Elvira Öberg (+13.1 seconds/ three shooting errors) and Johanna Skottheim (+20 seconds/ two shooting errors). Hanna Öberg (+1: 03.1/ four shooting errors) was fourth.
“I’m impressed and surprised,” Heijdenberg told the broadcaster “SVT” after the mass start. “In the last round I was really nervous, I wanted to pull away and just had to step on the gas. It is an incredible relief,” she commented. The 24-year-old had completed the overall biathlon World Cup on the 39th place.
Heijdenberg was able to snap the gold medal in the sprint at the European Championship in Martell.
Biathlon: Elvira Öberg as a favorite in mass start
Elvira Öberg went to the mass start at the Swedish championship as a favorite.
The 26-year-old landed in the overall biathlon World Cup behind Franziska Preuss (1278 points) and the two French Lou JeanMonnot (1258) and Julia Simon (902) with 761 points on the one hand as the best Swede in fourth place. In addition, the relay Olympic champion at the Biathlon World Cup in Lenzerheide crowned the world champion in the mass start.
“I am incredibly satisfied with my season, many dreams have come true. I became world champion and have completed some of the absolutely best races of my career. It is one of my best seasons, if not the best,” said Elvira Öberg.
The 26-year-old should be able to cope with the missed victory in the mass start at the national championship. The upcoming World Cup season begins on November 29th in the Swedish Östersund.