Sturla Holm Lägreid has been a perfect lying shooter this season except for one missed shot. The Norwegian star relaxes with music.
Joel Sippola,
Nina Old house
The Biathlon World Cup continues on Sunday with the men’s joint start. Live broadcast on TV2, Areena and the app from 1:25 p.m.
Norwegian Sturla Holm Lägreid is one of the best biathlon athletes of the moment. On the competition tour, however, he cannot do without one instrument: the guitar.
The guitar travels to the competition venues in the same bag as the miniature rifle.
– My guitar is handmade, Lägreid tells Urheilu.
Music helps the Norwegian star to break away from everyday life. Lägreid especially prefers rock.
– Music has always been a part of my life. It’s great to be able to take the guitar with me. There has been no need to give up playing on race trips.
Convincing on the shooting bench
Lägreid stormed to the top of biathlon in the 2020–2021 season. The young man who overcame the difficulties immediately achieved four gold medals in his first World Championships and six competition victories in the World Cup.
Before his amazing breakthrough season, Lägreid was an unknown name to the general public. He had only competed a few times in the World Cup. The development of his biathlon talent was slowed down by mumps, which put the Norwegian on a training break for eight months.
When Lägreid found his peak mood, the track has been effectively smooth. In the previous two seasons, he finished second in the overall cup. Also in the current season’s points table, there is a number two in front of Lägreidi’s name.
In the overall race, Lägreidi is on the road Johannes Thingnes Bö. He won the overall World Cup competition three times in a row in 2019–2021. Last winter he won two individual Olympic golds. This season, he has achieved eight race wins.
Lägreid, born in 1997, is naturally taken from his success in recent seasons, but is thirsty to be the best. According to him, there is development in all areas.
– The best thing about biathlon is that there is always room for improvement. It’s never finished, Lägreid says.
Lägreid is one of the most reliable shooters. Already a couple of seasons ago, his shooting percentage was a tough 92.
Last season the readings dropped, but in the current season the Norwegian has been in a wild shooting mood. After 11 individual competitions, Lägreidi’s shooting percentage is 92.22.
From lying down, Lägreid has only missed once. The success of the camp raid has been based on good shooting, but the speed has also improved on the track. In the early season, he has been the third fastest skier.
Lägreid has won once this season and reached the top three eight times.
– I have been a good shooter and I am still striving to improve it. I’m trying to get better on the bench and also in skiing. That way I have opportunities for better results, Lägreid knows.
Get better by studying the statistics
In civilian life, 25-year-old Lägreid is studying technology. He is interested in physics and mathematics.
The studies are also useful in biathlon. Lägreid closely monitors the percentages related to biathlon.
In mathematics, he especially enjoys statistics.
– You have to find the pieces where you can improve your percentages. Whether it was shooting or skiing. It’s exciting to watch them develop, he feels.
Making excuses for statistics is one way to rise to an even better level.
– I am motivated to work in order to be one notch better than second place, Lägreid says.