PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Stina Nilsson switched cross-country skis to biathlon.
Anna Carin Zidek did the same in her time – but with a better outcome.
– In my time it was easier, Zidek tells Sportbibeln.
Anna Carin Zidek, formerly Olofsson, was a good cross-country skier who became an even better biathlon shooter. After winning several major medals, she also won the hearts of the Swedish people.
Zidek’s achievements
It wasn’t that Anna Carin was bad at cross-country skiing. She was clearly at the national team level and was allowed to go along to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City as a cross-country skier. But after trying biathlon, it was just too much fun not to go for it – and oh how successful it was.
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In the World Cup, there were twelve individual wins and 25 podium places in nine seasons. Zidek won three individual WC medals, and another three in the mixed relay. In the Olympics, there have also been three individual medals, two of which came during the 2006 Olympics in Turin. A gold in the mass start and a silver in the sprint made Anna Carin “ACO” with the entire Swedish people.
About Stina Nilsson
One who made the same sport change as Zidek is Stina Nilsson. Stina achieved great success in cross-country skiing, including several Olympic and World Cup medals, before she decided in 2020 to start a venture into biathlon.
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Anna Carin says that she had higher expectations of Nilsson.
– I thought she would cope with the change better than she has done. In the first season, she showed that there was potential there, but I think it has backfired a little, and I have no idea why. She probably knows that herself, says Zidek to Sportbibeln.
READ MORE: Stina Nilsson reveals private messages with boyfriend Emil Nykvist – which were decisive during the tough time
No solution
However, the 50-year-old believes that it is a more difficult transition between sports today than in her time.
– In my time it was easier too, if you think about that time. Then it was enough that you either drove fast or shot well. Today, you have to manage both to be able to make a good change. And she went fast in the beginning there, the first few years.
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Do you have any theory what Stina Nilsson needs to get back to the highest level?
– No, I can’t sit here and speculate when I don’t know anything about background and such. It is very difficult to have any theory about it, says Anna Carin Zidek.
READ MORE: Anna-Carin Zidek threw the rifle on her back and set off – this is how the Swedish Olympic gold medalist lives today
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