Stina Nilsson stood on the shooting range – without a magazine.
Now she knows what really happened.
– Having said that, it can certainly happen again, she tells SVT.
Since switching to biathlon a few years ago, Stina Nilsson has received a lot of headlines. Experts have criticized her driving times, she has occasionally had major problems with shooting – but at the same time has been praised for her fine performances. However, Nilsson has had a difficult start to this year’s season, and this weekend there was a real fade.
The explanation for the miss
When Nilsson went in for a standing shooting during the competition in Kontiolahti, she just stood. Nilsson was then helped by an official, and in total the shooting series took a full minute. Afterwards, it was discovered that Nilsson had no magazine for the gun, as it had fallen out from under the prone shooter. The miss has become the big talking point in the biathlon world.
But now comes the explanation of what actually happened. Many thought at first that Nilsson had simply forgotten about the magazine, but she immediately dismissed that claim. Now Nilsson explains what actually happened – and she believes that the material in the rifle was wrong.
– We have concluded that the magnets that held the magazines were not strong enough. They fell out during the prone shooting, says Stina Nilsson according to SVT.
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“Could happen again…”
Scores of biathletes have commented on what happened to Nilsson since the weekend, and all have said the same thing: They’ve never experienced anything like it. Nilsson doesn’t have that either when it comes to competition, but something similar has happened during training.
– I have a new stock (on the rifle) for this year and when I got it at the beginning there were a couple of training sessions this summer that the magazine was not attached properly. But then we put in magnets and now we’ve reinforced it to get even more friction.
When the problem is now identified, Stina Nilsson feels calm and safe. But at the same time, she keeps the door open for it to happen again.
– Having said that, it can certainly happen again, it can certainly happen to everyone at some point. But it is not something that I will go and think about.
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