Biathlon World Cup 2024
– Things have actually gone quite well for me since I entered high school.
In terms of medals, it is a bit modest to throw in the word quite. Two Olympic golds, three WC golds and a total of 15 championship medals should possibly be described less humbly.
In 2018, Hanna Öberg became one of her sport’s biggest stars overnight, but the gold-glittering shimmer from her breakthrough year is over.
The years that followed have hardened her, the doubts have been worked through but with the success the demands and expectations have also increased.
Differentiating between person and performance has become necessary, but is at times anything but easy. Biathlete Hanna Öberg is straightforward, there is no room for frills, in private she is considerably more sensitive. An equation tricky to master.
– I am not a woman of steel.
Hanna Öberg after the Olympic gold in the distance in 2018.
And probably a lot has happened during Hanna Öberg’s medal-studded career that could even make a “woman of steel” give way.
Few know the drama behind the 2018 gold rush.
At home, Öberg fought against the clock and had to postpone the trip to South Korea twice – one of them 30 minutes before the taxi to the flight was due to arrive.
– I was afraid I wouldn’t get there.
It has almost been six years since then, but the memories are strong.
– It was all very frustrating, the whole course of the illness was strange. I was out training and then the next day in the morning I was sick again. It must have been some stomach virus.
She received the forbidden advice from the then national team coach Wolfgang Pichler “if you ask again, don’t say anything to anyone. The last thing they want is to bring such an ailment into the Olympic village.”
Fortunately, it was never needed, and five days later than expected, she boarded the flight.
– It wasn’t something we wanted to talk about out loud at the time, but I hadn’t waited 48 hours since the last vomit when I got on the flight, so it was.
Wolfgang Pichler and Hanna Öberg.
Foto: Jessica Gow/TT
Wolfgang Pichler
Photo: Maxim Thoré/Bildbyrån
Taking Olympic gold felt like a baggis in comparison to the chaotic upload she was forced to as a debutant. After strong performances in both the sprint and the chase start, there was a great calm when the distance, which was also postponed, was to be decided.
– Once I came to South Korea, I had gotten through the hardest, there I could drop everything and really just perform. I was in very good physical shape and mentally I could relax.
The mental strength in extremely pressured situations is in many ways her signature to this day. And in many ways, the spy drama before the Olympics describes Hanna Öberg’s psyche, which permeated all the successes after the shock gold.
Getting to the final decisive shoot, where everything is at stake, is worse than the shoot itself. Like in the mixed relay on Wednesday night, where not even a fall or hurdles in the first shot upset her psyche in the final.
– I have done so much well up to those situations so then it is obvious that the shots should sit, I think that I am a person who grows with the bigger task.
“You must respect your opponents”
Many years in the world elite with the spotlight constantly directed at them means that the lines between the private and the performance can be easily blurred. Something Hanna Öberg had to work with.
At home, the garden and the house take up a lot of time, thoughts about work as a pragmatic and patient biathlete are put aside and a more sensitive individual takes their place.
Can’t you be so sensitive when it’s sports and a performance at stake?
– There are several aspects of it and why I don’t want it in. It is clear that sports are emotions, but at the same time, sports are only sports in a way. There are other things in life too, it’s not just biathlon that matters. For me, if I want to perform at my best, a balance is important, nothing should take up too much space.
Hanna Öberg makes it sound easy, but the fact is that the lessons around it and how she handles setbacks regarding her own performance have existed since childhood.
Much to her disappointment, she finished fourth in a cross-country race many, many years ago, beaten by a girl she usually used to be ahead of. The frustration was then rather directed at how bad it was that the competitor was ahead than at his own less successful performance for the day.
– Then I know that my parents were very clear with me: you can absolutely be dissatisfied and feel that you have not achieved what you are capable of, but it must not affect anyone else. I have to be able to accept that others are better than me, that is an important lesson I have carried with me. Then I don’t have to exuberantly and be happy for someone else’s sake, but you have to respect your opponents.
“Then I know that my parents were very clear with me: you can absolutely be dissatisfied and feel that you haven’t achieved what you are capable of, but it must not affect anyone else”
Photo: Johan Axelsson/Bildbyrån
It is also noticeable when she herself has to analyze her races in front of television cameras and journalists, despite a possible disappointment, she always answers as honestly as she can.
– It is clear that there have been times where I feel that I don’t need to run to the mixed zone the first thing I do when I cross the finish line. Sometimes it can be nice to think through what you yourself think about your competition and in some cases get some information so you have a little on your feet as well. If you give it a few minutes, many things will land.
Are you good at keeping people and performance separate?
– I try to do it, but it’s clear when you’re very much in the bubble, it’s a difficulty to completely separate it, that’s how it is. If I have a heavier period in biathlon, it is clear that it affects me outside as well, even if I don’t want it that way. I’m not a woman of steel in that way, you’re a little human in that. And I think a lot of people can relate to that, when you have a heavy day at work or period, it’s hard to completely shake it off when you get home.
So we ask questions about that too…?
– Yes, it will be more difficult to put it behind.
What is it like to get those questions right then?
– It depends a little bit, I was able to experience last winter that there was so much focus on shooting from the media and when I enter a new competition I don’t want to think about the previous competition and it’s difficult when you get questions about the. It’s hard to let things go when you’re involuntarily reminded. But I am extremely aware that this is how it works and that I will get these questions. So I think it’s quite mixed.
Hanna Öberg together with her partner and biathlete Martin Ponsiluoma.
Photo: Johan Axelsson/Bildbyrån
Photo: JESPER ZERMAN / BILDBYRÅN
Hanna Öberg’s career and medal rain have led to lots of headlines. The achievements are visible in the seams, assessments and accolades pour in.
The downside of success is that things that do not concern sports become news, where all the prize money ends up or how they will celebrate Christmas.
Or like when Hanna Öberg and Martin Ponsiluoma announced that they were a couple – after Hanna had previously been together with national team colleague Jesper Nelin.
I was a bit disappointed
“Love drama” made headlines in Sweden’s biggest newspapers.
– The situation that arose then, it was something I did not see in front of me would have to happen. It became quite a big deal in the media, which I hadn’t expected, perhaps. I have no problem being open about Martin and I being a couple, he’s not secretive, but at the same time I don’t want to share just about anything from my private life to the media. I think it went a little over the line in that crank.
Was it hard?
– Busy, I don’t know if that’s the right word, I was a little disappointed.
Disappointed in what?
– That it would have to be the way it was.
– But now it is an overplayed chapter and really something that is behind us, and everyone involved has moved on from it. There is nothing left, it is old now.
Hanna Öberg became WC queen in Oberhof 2023
Photo: Mathias Bergeld/Bildbyrån
And then there was the WC last year.
When the fireworks create a colorful spectrum over the shooting range in Oberhof, Hanna Öberg stands there and tries to get the words out.
They are hard to hear, but the smile is wide and the shine of the eyes reveals feelings of happiness, pride and euphoria.
The Swede has just been crowned WC queen with two individual golds.
It is hard to understand that just a few months before, she hesitated about continuing in the sport she had loved since childhood.
You cannot bury yourself
Just like now, the World Cup upload was marred by illness, some choppy shooting and worrying questions about questionable form.
But the truth is that the joy disappeared.
Can biathlon become a must?
– Sometimes it’s not worth it in the same way. Last year I went from competition to competition and was just disappointed and it doesn’t give me nearly as much. It is important for me to carry that with me going forward, the season has been up and down but I think there is a big difference compared to last year. The patience has to be there and you can’t dig yourself. I’m talking about joy and every day it won’t be the most fun I know, both parts have to take place, but it has to be overwhelmingly positive.
The routines have been built on over the years, the setbacks have led to experiences and the security in itself is strong.
Everything has led her to where she is today, one of the world’s best biathletes with WC gold to defend.
– In the situation I’m in now, I think it gives me great security that I entered the championship in different ways and was usually able to do very good competitions on the spot, regardless of how the upload has looked.
– I am really looking forward to this championship.
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