Biathlon Swedes are aiming for more medals after silver success
ZHANGJIAKOU, China: With high expectations after two gold and two silver medals in Pyeongchang, Sweden fought in the initial biathlon competitions at the Olympic Games in Beijing, but a silver in the sprint for Elvira Oeberg has got them back on track.
The Swedes finished fourth but were almost 40 seconds from the podium in the initial mixed relay, with Mona Brorsson’s 10th and Martin Ponsiluomas 12th their best results in a disappointing performance in the individual races.
They went back to the drawing board, went through the narrow, winding course in the smallest detail and it gave results on Friday when Oeberg’s superb last ski lap delivered a silver medal, with the promise of more to come.
– We skied and talked about how we would handle the peaks, where we could save some energy, and we put together a good tactical plan for today, says team coach Anders Bystroem to Reuters.
“We have had good results (in the World Cup), we have had a fantastic team effort, but you need that little extra and we had that today – that is what is crucial at the Olympics,” he added.
“Skiing worked much better, it felt like a much better playing field today,” added Oeberg’s sister Hanna, an 2018 Olympic champion.
Her younger sister awarded her first Olympic medal to the collective Swedish effort.
“We have worked really hard together as a team to get here, and together we took this medal as a team as well,” she said.
Sweden’s men get the chance to get on the podium on Saturday in the men’s sprint race at the National Biathlon Arena.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Michael Perry)