“I will be taken behind the barn and the machine gun team will shoot me” – Aino-Kaisa Saarinen understands the violently erupted Norwegian star

I will be taken behind the barn and the machine

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– I hate journalists.

Biathlon star Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold26, opened after the World Cup On his YouTube channel (you will switch to another service). Norway, led by Tandrevold, went to the women’s relay race held in Oberhof in February with the highest expectations. However, the team was only sixth.

Tandrevold, who won eight World Cup medals, was in great difficulty in the standing position. He had to go through three penalty rounds for his part. He opened up about his thoughts later after the message.

– It annoys me to answer in 50 interviews why I shoot so badly, why I’m so crap and why I don’t succeed. I’ll try to do everything I can to succeed. Believing in yourself isn’t easy when everyone else is telling you how bad you are, Tandrevold gushed.

Tandrevold stated that he hates journalists.

– They are friends when everything goes well and absolutely terrible when things go badly.

Tandrevold later apologized for his hateful comment. The Norwegian has gotten over his disappointment well, because after the World Championships he has reached the top three a few times.

– I think that’s the idea of ​​the video, that I want to show how I felt then. I don’t hate you or any other journalists. There were a lot of emotions at that point, Tandrevold reasoned for NRK. (you switch to another service)

Former cross-country skier Aino-Kaisa Saarinen understand how Tandrevold feels. Interviews were also tight spots for Saarinen.

– I wouldn’t say that I hated journalists. That’s pretty harsh, but I hated that situation. It’s miserable that right after a failed performance you have to tell the whole world why you performed so poorly.

Saarinen was afraid of the press corps

The most unpleasant memory of Saarinen’s sports career, who won four world championships in his career, is connected to the 4 x 5 kilometer relay at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Finland had won the previous two value race relays, but the Vancouver race got off to a rough start.

After the traditional shares, Finland was only seventh. Riitta-Liisa Roponen brought Finland into the medal fight with a three-pointer and Saarinen beat Italy in the bronze fight.

– The entire team had not received a single medal, so the pressure was enormous. I felt that if the medal doesn’t come now, the questions from the group of journalists will shoot me as a sieve. It felt like I was being taken behind a barn and being shot by a machine gun squad.

– It was a nice feeling to win a medal, but there was a terrible pressure that if you fail here. When I finished, I was very relieved that the medal came. I was afraid of the group of journalists, Saarinen recalls.

Saarinen had just won an Olympic medal. At that moment, however, he was happier that he was not subjected to media torture.

– I was happy that I didn’t have to answer why the medal didn’t come. At that moment it seems a bit crazy, but that’s just how it was, Saarinen, who currently works as a commentator for , laughs.

Ahonen’s image

Janne Ahonen giving interviews was a necessary evil. He caused challenges for journalists as an interviewee of few words.

– I didn’t answer very long, which was a very conscious choice. When such an image began to form, I knew that the journalists did not expect anything from me. I got out of that situation. At the end of my career, I was able to open up and give a little more.

To the TV viewer, the athlete’s comments may look like an explanation after a failed performance. Saarinen reminds that the background of a weak performance can be personal issues that the athlete does not want to talk about.

– In the background, there may be personal issues related to illnesses, for example. This can also be, for example, a psychological issue or the death of a loved one. You don’t want to go and open it up to the whole world. Still, it’s being discussed, where you have to come up with a valid answer.

After his career, Ahonen has worked as a commentator for .

– It’s more clear than ever to know that journalists are just doing their job. Tandrevold had said he hated the interviewer. It’s not the interviewer’s fault, says Ahonen.

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