PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Calle Halfvarsson already went out in the quarter-finals.
Then he went out and sawed his own coaches after the World Cup race in Drammen.
– It’s a boot for the coaches, says the 33-year-old to SportExpressen.
It was another dark day for the Swedish men’s rowers during the World Cup in Drammen, Norway. Four out of six male skaters advanced to the quarter-finals, but then it got really tough.
All four riders went out after three of them chose to drive in heat 1 together with the Norwegian dominant Johannes Hösflot Kläbo. But the Swedish hope Calle Halfvarsson, Edwin Anger and Marcus Grate had nothing to say and everyone had to leave the sprint.
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Afterwards, Halfvarsson was completely dejected and extremely self-critical when he saw the tactical plan.
– It’s a tactically bad choice on the run again. I don’t get a free way and then it’s difficult. I have to rethink a bit now. I have to be a little more tactical and make the right choice, maybe check it before the start and not just think it will work out before the start. I have to have a plan. Maybe you also need a coach who gives you a little help, says the 33-year-old to SportExpressen.
READ MORE: New success for Jonna Sundling in Norway – second in the World Cup sprint after the huge drama against the Norwegian rival
The boot to Sweden
The Swedish national team veteran sends clear criticism of his own coaches and sees the setup during the World Cup sprint in Drammen.
– Maybe it’s a boot for the trainers, but maybe I need it. There is not a word how we will do before the start. It’s something you have to talk through beforehand. How do we think about the riot? Right now there is no talk like that, we have to get better at that, he says in the interview.
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The national team manager Anders Byström responds to the criticism and reveals that they actually had a tactics talk before the sprint. But also admit that they can always be better on that front.
– We can certainly have even more. But talk is one thing, then it has to be done on the track as well. It’s up to the riders. We can talk as much as we want, but every now and then things always happen. You can never predict a sprint heat. We saw that today, says Byström to the evening newspaper.
The winner of the race was once again Johannes Hösflot Kläbo, the Norwegian’s 63rd World Cup victory. Was second Erik Valnes and third in the sprint came the Frenchman Richard Jouve which broke the Norwegian dominance.
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