PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Worse shooting last season made the national team management invest more in shooting training ahead of the upcoming biathlon season.
It was not appreciated by everyone.
– At first I said no, says Hanna Öberg.
Overall, the Swedish biathletes shot worse last season and of the big nations, Sweden was fifth after Norway, Germany, France and Italy in hit percentage.
– We thought we had to strengthen shooting, make it more important without turning the pyramid upside down, says the shooting coach Jean-Marc Chabloz.
Öberg says no
The solution was more dry training, i.e. shooting training without firing any shots, and also in groups to make it a little more fun. In the judo hall in Östersund, the skaters stood on balls and balanced, or lay down and aimed for five minutes – all to strengthen the stability of the body and improve focus.
The coaches got the skaters with them – in the end.
– When Jean-Marc said we should start with more dry training, I said no, says Hanna Öberg with a laugh.
– When he developed it, I felt that I should still give it a chance. Doing it in a group has ensured that it turned out to be of better quality than if I had done it at home where the light was not always good or I did not know if I had drawn the dots the same size.
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Elvira’s message
The sister Elvira Öberg aimed to prioritize shooting during the pre-season:
– We are not cross-country skiers who shoot, we are biathletes and the whole is what is important.
Despite her stated priority, it was a challenge to stand up and dry click in a gymnasium in the morning.
– It wasn’t always that you felt that “oh, what fun this is going to be”. But I trust Jean-Marc.
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In addition to the dry training, the coaches have connected the skiing training and the shooting training more.
– We see from the shooting statistics that we have become worse, but we should not panic about it. The statistical figure is not the goal, the goal is to get podium places and medals, says Chabloz.
– This year we have also put extra emphasis on relays and practiced more with extra shots.
“Has gotten better”
The question now is whether the change in shooting training has yielded results.
– It’s hard to say because they train so much and are worn differently. A very tired active generally shoots worse. But on an individual level, several have improved, says Johan Hagströmalso shooting coach in the national team.
Hanna Öberg says that she had “a notch better motivation” with the shooting training and Elvira Öberg thinks that the shooting this fall worked very well on the most competitive sessions, which strengthened her confidence.
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Shooting percentage 23/24:
1) Norway 81.82
2) Germany 81.28
3) France 78.66
4) Italy 78.65
5) Sweden 78.60
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