Hear Björn Ferry’s criticism after the dangerous shot in the player above.
During yesterday, the Norwegian Sturla Holm Lägreid was stopped from competing in the mass start, when he fired a dangerous shot in a hotel room on Friday.
– It is a very unfortunate incident. Then I don’t have all the details, I haven’t been in contact with anyone who was involved, so I find it difficult to comment on the matter, says Ulrika Öberg.
“Otherwise you can’t compete”
In addition to his role as national coordinator at the Swedish Biathlon Union, Öberg is also competition leader for the World Cup competitions in Östersund and technical delegate within the International Biathlon Union, IBU.
– There are a lot of security checks of weapons before the competition and after the finish line. There are clear rules regarding what you can and cannot do. We are constantly working on that, she says.
Öberg elaborates on the requirements for the contestants:
– Nationally and internationally, there is mandatory safety training that everyone who handles weapons must complete. Otherwise, you cannot compete or be a leader, she says.
– The competition organizer is responsible for the competition itself, but it is always the individual competitor who is responsible for their weapon.
Responding to Ferry’s criticism
SVT Sports expert Björn Ferry believes that biathlon has major problems with safety. Among other things, Ferry claims that the sport had “silk glove treatment by the police and authorities”.
Ulrika Öberg disagrees with the description.
– No, I wouldn’t say that. Biathletes are not treated differently. The security issues are very important, she says.
Is it relevant to use electronic shooting instead?
– No. Safety is of course extremely important, but right now it’s biathlon with a powder rifle that counts.