Stina Nilsson is nobbed in the WC.
Then Norwegian experts raise their eyebrows at her development.
– I don’t know what happened, says NRK expert Andreas Stabrun Smith.
Stina Nilsson shocked everyone when she chose to leave cross-country skiing for a venture into biathlon. And for a long time it looked like she had made the right choice and that the development seemed to be going straight up. Last winter was successful, with a regular place in World Cup competitions, and also podium places.
The verdict of the experts
Many thought that this would be the season when Nilsson took further steps in his development, and really cemented his place in the Swedish national team. But instead, the autumn has been marred by uneven shooting, slow ride times – and positions far from top battles.
Stina Nilsson has during the last few weeks been poked from the World Cup, and it was therefore not particularly surprising that she was completely left out of the Swedish World Cup squad. But Nilsson is a big name, and the reactions have been strong. Not least in Norway. There, the experts during the autumn and winter have been critical of Nilsson, especially when another star, Anamarija Lampic, took the step over from cross-country skiing – and achieved fine results.
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“That surprises me the most”
The Norwegian expert Andreas Stabrun Smith, on NRK, believes that Sweden is right to poke Nilsson – at the same time he is surprised by her development.
– It was the right decision when you have seen her results. I’m surprised she hasn’t done better. I don’t know what has happened there. It would have been difficult to defend taking Stina out the way she has performed, he tells Expressen.
Ola Lunde is another Norwegian expert who has difficulty understanding what happened to Nilsson, and he too thinks Sweden is doing the right thing.
– I think that Sweden has made a correct selection. Stina has not performed either in skiing or in shooting. And of that, I am most surprised that she has not performed in the track, he says.
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