PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Biathlon World Cup is in full swing in German Oberhof.
Sweden is still waiting for its first gold, but alongside the competitions, SVT Sport now has to endure harsh criticism.
“It was enough for you to go out into the kitchen, wrap yourself in aluminum foil and try to forget/regret that you turned on the TV at all,” writes DN columnist Johan Croneman.
A week has passed since the Biathlon World Cup 2023 and there remains one more week before the World Championships in German Oberhof are summed up and all the medals are awarded. So far, there have been three medals for our blue and yellow representatives, but we are still waiting for the first WC gold.
Criticism of SVT
Hanna Öberg has salvaged WC silver and Lynn Persson together with Sebastian Samuelsson each have their WC bronze so far. What remains is a busy schedule with lots of Swedish medal chances in the form of distance races, single mixed relay, regular relays and finally the mass starts.
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But alongside the Swedish efforts in the wake of the shooting rampart, those who report on what is happening now receive a big scoop of criticism. SVT Sports’ broadcasters have not impressed at all so far – quite the opposite, if you ask Dagens Nyheter’s experienced columnist Johan Croneman who now comes with stinging words.
READ MORE: The Swedish crisis move in the middle of the World Cup – now Stina Nilsson can be called by lightning after the shock message: “Completely devastated”
Now watching Ferry
It is mainly the SVT magazine “OB-tid” with the commentators Ola Branholm and Bjorn Ferry who may receive the harshest words.
“I also tore my hair out, if not in despair then in wonder (to put it mildly),” Croneman begins his column on DN.
“It may not have been the turkey of all time, but it was definitely a top-5 in the history of sports television and it was enough to make you go into the kitchen, wrap yourself in aluminum foil and try to forget/regret that you turned on the TV at all.”
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But the criticism of Ferry and Bränholm as commentators during the races is not kind either.
“Björn Ferry is a competent and reliable expert, even if he stands a little too close to the team at times and has an ‘understanding’ of both the one and the other that viewers don’t even want to understand. I have written about Ola Bränholm before – and he is similar. Always unabashedly overjoyed when a competitor to Sweden fails, the rest of the time he plays cheerleader. In 2019, I wrote about how Ola Bränholm seems to see himself as part of the central entertainment in SVT’s biathlon broadcasts, and as I said, he still does. It’s nothing personal – he’s just the wrong man in the wrong place,” the columnist continues his explanation.
READ MORE: Sebastian Samuelsson’s revenge after help from Petter Northug(!) – rough play in Norway: “Spit on him”
Also the SVT colleagues Helena Ekholm and Ola Ravald receives a barrage of criticism from the television columnist.
“Helena Ekholm (including two WC gold and three WC bronze) is of course one of the icons behind the biathlon wonder, but as an expert she is completely meaningless. She is crossing her fingers and hopes that it will go well for Sweden. And if it didn’t go well today, it will probably go well tomorrow. Hello. The other expert in the studio on this first day was Ola Ravald, who is part of the Swedish national team. SVT sport has probably succeeded in launching the least critical WC studio in history. Congratulations”, Johan Croneman concludes his column.
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