PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Elvira Öberg is still ill and worries are growing in the WC.
But Stina Nilsson is still completely snubbed and Johanna Skottheim is called in instead.
The Swedish national team reveals the truth behind the decision to nob Stina completely.
The Swedish superstar Elvira Öberg got sick this weekend and missed the start of the hunt. After that, she has missed both Wednesday’s distance race and also Thursday’s single mixed relay, while worries continue to grow for little sister Öberg.
Nobbar Stina
Therefore, the Swedish national team has made the decision to call in Johanna Skottheim as a reserve. She has now been flown in to the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof, Germany.
– We have decided to send Johanna Skottheim here as a reserve so we don’t have any problems before the relay. But then we have to wait and see what happens with Elvira Öberg, says the national team coach John Luke for Radiosporten and further explains the situation around Öberg:
– She hasn’t started training yet. She takes walks and still has a sore throat. She is not completely healthy yet.
The article continues after the picture.
It was talked about for a long time Stina Nilsson would get the chance to be called up as a reserve for the WC. But she is now being overlooked by the national team management, who have chosen to call in another skater from home in Sweden instead.
– Johanna feels good and has done a good interval session. She has done many nice relays for us before, we feel that she is in good shape for the relay. It is a good reserve for the WC, says Lukas in the interview.
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Nilsson is missing
The national team captain justifies the decision not to select Nilsson and reveals that the real reason for the Swede being snubbed in the World Cup.
– We have had many illnesses at home in Sweden. Unfortunately, Stina is not feeling completely well and has become a little ill. We have felt in the last few days that it has not been completely right there, so therefore we have not sent her here and I think it has been absolutely the right choice. Now we have decided on Johanna and I think it is a very good solution, he admits to the radio channel.
The article continues after the picture.
Stina Nilsson is also missing when the Swedish squad for the IBU Cup, the level below the World Cup, was announced on Thursday. Which gives another explanation for why there was no WC participation for the 29-year-old.
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Included in the blue-yellow squad for the IBU Cup, which will have its season finale in Canmore, Canada, are also Johanna Skottheim and the successful skater Tilda Johansson, who currently leads the overall cup impressively enough. Sweden goes over to North America on February 19 and the first race awaits on February 23.
Stina Nilsson seems to be currently in Sälen to recover, see the picture below.
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See the picture: