Stina Nilsson was one of the absolute superstars in cross-country skiing and even won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. But she has not yet been able to show these successes since she switched to biathlon in the 2020/21 season.
At the start of the biathletes’ World Cup in Östersund, Nilsson only finished the first individual race in 84th place. In the 15-kilometer race, she made seven missed shots – too big a burden to limit damage on the cross-country ski trail.
“I had too much tension before the first shooting and started with two mistakes. “That’s not the start you want at a distance,” she said afterwards Sportbladet.
It was another disappointing performance that should have been a thing of the past. Last winter she was removed from the World Cup squad due to poor performance and had to compete in the second-class IBU Cup.
But after this weak performance at the start of the season, the critical voices are increasing again. “It will soon be time to replace them. If the younger girls come along, it’s important that they can try things out,” criticized TV expert Helena Eckholm during the broadcast on Swedish television.
Nilsson is aware that in the coming sprint (on Friday from 2.45 p.m. in SPORTS1-Live ticker) is under pressure. “My place is hanging by a thread, that’s probably true. But I’m glad I have another chance,” the 30-year-old admitted.
The winter sports athlete herself knows best what was wrong. “I make mistakes, stand and hold on for too long,” she said, explaining her weakness at the shooting range. With a hit rate of 72 percent, she was already in the bottom third last winter.
It urgently needs to improve there, even though it only had the 35th best running time. Otherwise she will soon find herself back in the unloved IBU Cup.
2023-11-28 23:02:44
#Biathlon #Expert #warns #Star #time #replace
