OBERHOF. Wolfgang Pichler is tired of Norway’s dominance.
Now he comes with a call to all of Sweden’s male skiers:
– Train harder!
There is a clear trend in both cross-country skiing and biathlon right now, and that is that Swedish ladies dominate.
Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson subscribe to podium places in the distance races and Jonna Sundling, Maja Dahlqvist and Emma Ribom do the same in the sprints.
And in the biathlon, head coach Johannes Lukas has – on repeated occasions and with good reason – called his girls “the world’s best women’s team”.
The guys then?
Well, things are slow there.
Zero podium places
Sebastian Samuelsson came third in the overall World Cup last year, but has not even been on the podium this year. Martin Ponsiluoma flashes from time to time, but has been far too uneven on the shooting range. Instead, it is total Norwegian dominance in both the cross-country skiing and biathlon World Cups.
Biathlon features five Norwegians in the top eight of the overall World Cup standings, and leader Johannes Thingnes Bö has been utterly dominant this season, winning 15 of the 18 races he has entered.
– Johannes is outstanding, but he is one of five. The others then?
Wolfgang Pichler is now asking himself that question.
The demonstration coach who has coached Swedish biathletes to great success is amazed that Sweden’s male skiers cannot compete with Norway’s.
But he believes he has a solution to the problem.
– They have to train harder, says Pichler.
“Can’t Be Afraid”
The 68-year-old believes that it is a widespread problem in Swedish sports in general, but that it is especially visible in skiing in particular.
– All respect for Norway, but it has nothing to do with the nation. On the women’s side, we are better than Norway. Why can’t it be the same on the men’s side? I see and hear that men and women train equally in Sweden, and if the women train as much as the men, it’s clear they end up at the forefront, but the guys have to train more.
Pichler continues:
– As I said, all respect to Norway, but we can’t just stand and watch and admire them and be afraid of them, as if we were standing and looking at a snake. There is a solution to the problem and that solution is to train harder.
Biathlon World Cup in German Oberhof starts on Wednesday. First up in the competition program is the mixed relay, where Sweden has a great medal chance.
Head coach Johannes Lukas will present the team tomorrow (read: Tuesday) at 10.00.
