Johannes Thingnes Bö has yet to get up to speed in the Biathlon World Cup. Bö has blamed the fluoride ban for his sticky skiing condition.
Johannes Thingnes Bö has dominated men’s biathlon in recent years, but this season the Norwegian has been surprisingly quiet. At the Östersund World Cup, he has reached the highest podium only in the relay, and in Saturday’s sprint race he fell to 18th place. The last time he was without a win in a sprint race was in January 2022.
Bö told In an interview with the Norwegian public broadcasting company NRK that he underestimated the significance of the fluoride ban that came into force this season. Last season, he was the fastest skier in all intermediate start competitions. In Östersund, he was only fifth fastest.
– Previously, it could be connected with skis without much use of the upper body. Now I don’t think it can be done anymore. I’m too weak in my upper body. I need to gain more muscle, Bö commented to NRK.
Sports expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen has said several times during the Östersund World Cup that he thinks the fluoride ban favors strong skiers above all. The difference is greater in relation to weaker skiers.
– If Johannes Thingnes Bö is of the opinion that the skis don’t slide quite the same as before, one can only wonder what the weaker skiers think about the subject, Mäkäräinen stated during the men’s pursuit race.
Hurt your elbow at a sponsor event
NRK’s expert Torgeir Björn again don’t believe Bö’s explanation. In his opinion, Bö has looked weaker at the beginning of the season than before, especially in the upper body.
– I don’t think that the fluoride ban means that he should train more. It’s probably because he hasn’t been able to train optimally after the race weekend in Sjusjöen, Björn stated.
Bö was in great shape on the race track in Sjusjöen, but after this he did his brother Tarjei Bön with an amateurish mistake at the sponsor event. The brothers were made to wring their hands, and since both are very competitive, it wasn’t just about slapping each other. Johannes did win Tarjei, but hurt his elbow in the process.
– There are things that good athletes should not do. It’s incredible to do something like this before the start of the season, NRK’s expert Ola Lunde stated.
Johannes Thingnes Bö was again the fastest skier in Sunday’s pursuit race and was 15th. Swedish Sebastian Samuelsson rose from fourth place to victory despite three penalty laps. After the sprint, leading Germany Philip Nawrath fell to second place. He was the only Finn to qualify for the men’s pursuit race Tero Seppälä shot four misses and finished 48th.