PHOTO: Bildbyrån + SVT Play
Hanna Öberg won gold, Linn Persson silver.
Then Wolfgang Pichler broke down.
– I start to cry, he says in SVT’s live broadcast.
Elvira Öberg was Sweden’s great hope for gold ahead of the Biathlon World Cup, but she got sick right after the sprint, and has now missed two straight competitions. Then two other skaters stepped forward – and today the duo secured a double placement for the second time in the championship.
Swedish smash hit
In the sprint, Hanna Öberg was second and Linn Persson third. Linn Persson, who has never won in the World Cup, thus won her first championship medal – and she didn’t have to wait very long for her second. Persson shot full in all four shooters in the distance, and gave himself a super position.
Linn Persson looked for a long time to be heading for a sensational gold, but Hanna Öberg had only one miss in all four shots, and in a real drama, Öberg went faster and won gold. Linn Persson was second, and thus the duo Öberg and Persson have been on the podium together twice in less than a week.
READ MORE: Sebastian Samuelsson is now praised by the Norwegian rivals – impressed by the Swede: “Thought that Sebbe would…”
The tears live
Many were emotional and moved after the Swedish smash hit – and perhaps the happiest of all was Wolfgang Pichler. The demo coach did a super job with, among others, Hanna Öberg and Linn Persson, and made Sweden a great nation in the sport again. When Öberg and Persson secured their medals, Pichler, for the day an expert in SVT, could not hold back the tears.
– I have always believed in Hanna, and that we now have two… If you know the story…, he says.
Wolfgang Pichler then broke down and had difficulty getting the words out.
– It’s tough now. It has been tough for Linn… And that she is now a medalist at the WC. I start to cry, he says.
READ MORE: SWEDISH DOUBLE SUCCESS! Hanna Öberg wins GOLD and Linn Persson SILVER in the distance race in the WC