Norway has dominated, Sweden has completely flopped.
Now the mocking gesture is revealed – even before the distance.
– That didn’t help either, says Sturla Holm Laegreid.
Norway’s men’s side has been completely dominant during this year’s Biathlon World Cup, but for Sweden, success has not been forthcoming. There have been no individual medals, and earlier in the championship, Sebastian Samuelsson spoke openly about how tired he is of hearing Norway’s national anthem.
The giant taunt against Sweden
In Wednesday’s distance race, it was another big disappointment for Sweden. Samuelsson, the biggest medal hope, shot away, and was never close to a medal. But Samuelsson got another gift from the Norwegians, a really mocking one.
After the finish, the Norwegian stars had simply sent flowers to Samuelsson and several other stars.
– Sebbe was a little sad after a lot of “Ja, vi elsker” (Norway’s national anthem), and he was a little sad. We thought that some flowers might help him get in a better mood, says Endre Strömsheim to Norwegian TV2.
“It didn’t help…”
But that was not the only thing that Norway did. They also sent Samuelsson an SMS with the lyrics to Norway’s national anthem.
– We made it so that he can practice the lyrics, so he can sing louder the next time he hears it at the ceremony, says Sturla Holm Laegreid.
The mocking gestures from Norway did not end there… Even before (!) Wednesday’s distance race, a Norwegian star had sent a text message to Martin Ponsiluoma.
– Vetle (Sjåstad Christiansen) sent “You old, you free” to Ponsiluoma as a bit of inspiration to win a medal today. But that didn’t help either…, says Laegreid.
In total, Hanna and Elvira Öberg, and Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma will all have received flowers from the Norwegian national team.
Sign up for our newsletter
Share