Magdalena Forsberg, 55, is Sweden’s greatest biathlete of all time.
But even she did not escape criticism.
– I got hate mail home after the Olympics in Nagano, she says in the podcast The road to the Top.
Two Olympic bronzes, six World Cup golds and winner of the overall World Cup six years in a row.
Magdalena Forsberg dominated biathlon in total during the late 90s and early 00s and is the greatest Sweden has had in the sport. She is also alone in having been awarded the Jerring Prize four times (1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001).
In the podcast Vägen till Toppen, however, she says that her career was not always a bed of roses. The worst was during and after the Olympics in Nagano in 1998. Forsberg went there as a big favorite, but was stopped by anxiety and brain ghosts and traveled home sad and devastated.
“Burn the skis”
Afterwards, she was subjected to a storm of hate.
– I got hate mail home. “You’re so bad, burn the skis and put the gun away”. I became a bit of a traitor, people expected me to go and get the medals, which I didn’t do, you never do that, she says in the podcast when she remembers back.
Tributes to Pichler
Forsberg has repeatedly highlighted the demon trainer Wolfgang Pichler as a key figure in her venture. He took over as national team captain at the end of the 90s and helped lead her to all the successes.
– I remember so well how he asked what my goals were and then I know that I said I wanted to become world champion and then he just said “that’s good, we’ll fix this. Follow my plan and I will take responsibility for your results,” says Forsberg.
She put the gun on the shelf in 2002.
