In yesterday’s distance competition, Hanna Öberg missed three shots and Elvira Öberg four.
When it was the men’s turn to go the distance, most of them also had trouble. For example, Martin Ponsiluoma blocked six shots and Jesper Nelin five.
“Can you screw?”
Now SVT Sports expert Björn Ferry believes that the association should act.
– If it’s a trend, which it feels like right now because no one has risen to the occasion, you should take a look: “What have we done and what are the others doing?”, he says, and continues:
– Can you screw something up and make something better? Because it is obvious that Sweden, neither on the women’s nor the men’s side, does not have anyone who maintains a world-class level in shooting.
“Am a little sick”
Ferry speculates that the Swedish problems may be partly due to the traditional view of skiing versus shooting in the sport.
– It’s a little sick in biathlon, that you prioritize skiing more, because that’s purely historical: It plays a bigger role, he says, and elaborates:
– But if you see where the development is going, you can’t give away a few seconds or a hit on the shot. So I think there is a lot to do there.
– But biathletes are usually not that interested in shooting. Most biathletes cannot name a sports shooter, but you have a very good grasp of cross-country skiing, where you can name the entire world elite.
Worked myself with Olympic shooters
Sweden has a proud history of sport shooting, and last year, for example, Victor Lindgren took WC gold in the ten meter air rifle.
– But nobody knows who he is, says Ferry, and adds:
– So there is something to do there, I think: To become more curious about shooting.
During Ferry’s active career, he worked for example with the former Olympic champion in rifle shooting, Jonas Edman, while Fredrik Lindström worked with the para shooter Jonas Jacobsson.