PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Stina Nilsson has had to endure harsh criticism recently.
Now SVT expert Björn Ferry puts his finger on the big problem.
– That is the big mystery with Stina Nilsson, he says to the TV channel.
Swedish biathlete Stina Nilsson has had a tough season this year, her fourth since switching from cross-country skiing. After weak results at the World Cup, she has also had to endure harsh criticism from all sorts of different quarters.
Criticism of Stina
The winter got off to a really sad start when Nilsson only managed an 84th place and 69th place at the World Cup. That led to the 30-year-old being kicked from the A national team and being relegated to the IBU Cup.
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Stina has competed there for several weeks and even if the results look better, it is not enough to return to the World Cup again. And it will certainly not be enough for a place in the Biathlon World Cup.
– The fact that Stina is not relevant for the WC is because there are five others who are better. Mainly five others who are better suited to run a WC relay. She is far from that right now, says the expert Bjorn Ferry to SVT.
Ferry’s honest words
Ferry is one of many who have been critical of Stina Nilsson during the winter and now he puts his finger on what all Swedes think about the Swedish biathlete and what the problem really is.
– Stina’s development was quite positive at the beginning, that it looked better and better. But then the big mystery has always been – since she became a biathlete – specifically the skiing. What’s wrong with skiing? Her second season she did some nice races and got on the podium once, but since then things have been slow. And she has been pretty far behind the very best. Because that is the great mystery. Why doesn’t it go faster?, says the former national team skier in biathlon.
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The transition from cross-country skiing to biathlon has been tough for Nilsson, but no one thought it would take this long for one of the world’s best skiers.
– We know that as a cross-country skier, her worst discipline was the skate race and individual start, but she still did some nice races. We remember when she sprinted down Therese Johaug in the sprint at the women’s relay, it was still five kilometers. So she should still be able to hold her own with the best biathletes when she’s fit. But it has been very long between those occasions and most of the time she has been clearly distant, says Ferry to the TV channel, but still keeps her fingers crossed for the Swede’s future.
– I still see that Stina Nilsson is a winning type and has enormous endurance. Deep down she has a belief in her own potential, so I think Stina will fight on. I still think she has some chance of actually getting back on the World Cup team and actually becoming a really good biathlete. That she can get back to the podium at the World Cup.
What do you think of Stina Nilsson as a biathlete? Share the article and have your say!
READ MORE: Anna-Carin Zidek says exactly what she thinks of Björn Ferry – the words about his efforts in television: “Some comments…”
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