On Sunday, Stina Nilsson stood again on the starting line in the Biathlon World Cup. But it certainly didn’t go as the former cross-country star hoped for. A full seven additional minutes were added to the normal distance, and a very modest 84th place. – I think it was a bit of premiere nerves for me, especially on the stand, she sums up to news. Nilsson changed sports to the surprise of many in 2020, but after impressing with, among other things, a podium in 2022, she was scrapped from the World Cup and WC last season. Several were surprised when she got the chance again in Östersund, because the results during the start of the season in Idre were very moderate. – I’ve had a rather complicated autumn, with many colds and corona here at the end, so I’m happy to be playing here on home ground. I think that they (the coaches) have seen a part of me this summer, I hope, and that they believe in me. I am grateful for that, says the 30-year-old. – She has become better at sticking to routines and the daily things needed to be a good biathlete. To relax between skiing and shooting, and to focus on one’s part, explains Sweden coach Johannes Lukas. New biathlon couple What is also quite new is the relationship with biathlon colleague Emil Nykvist. It has not gone unnoticed either in the home country, or within a team where there are already several other pairs of biathletes. COACH: Johannes Lukas is used to dealing with couples in Sweden’s training group. Photo: Anders Boine Verstad / news – We are so skilled and thrive with each other, so that’s the way it will be and it will go well, says the coach and laughs heartily. – But I can only judge the sporting aspect and it’s probably not that much training they have together, but it has probably given her a positive energy boost, answers Lukas about Nilsson. It’s a comment that makes her smile. – Did he say that? It was surprising. Yes, but it can be. It’s very good, because both know what it’s like. Except when we go to a competition on the same day, because both are a bit nervous, but we support each other through thick and thin, she says. ON HOME TRACK: Emil Nykvist fared a bit better than his girlfriend, and he came 46th in the men’s normal distance. Photo: BILDBYRÅN – A mystery Nykvist himself had to settle for 46th place a few hours later. He also believes the two can make each other better. – She can teach me to ski fast, and I can teach her to shoot. And it’s clear that I feel very comfortable with her, says Nykvist to news. But on the normal distance, Nilsson was almost three minutes behind the race’s fastest, Elvira Öberg, in the cross-country time. Also last season, she was at the back of the race. – She made good progress in the first two years, but from then on it is a mystery that she does not ski faster. She must, regardless of whether she has to spend a lot of time shooting to adjust to a new sport, maintain her speed on the course much better than she has done, says news’s cross-country and biathlon commentator, Torgeir Bjørn. – There are highs and lows Nilsson herself points out that she is not yet in top form after the periods of illness, but herself feels that she has noticed progress – especially on the stand. Nevertheless, she feels that things go up and down a lot. – Then you quickly tear down the self-confidence you have built up, so I need a bit more good experiences, acknowledges the Swedish profile. EC BRONZE: Stina Nilsson had to settle for the EC last winter, and she won bronze in the mixed relay together with Tilda Johansson, Malte Stefansson and Anton Ivarsson. Photo: AP – As an athlete, I am really both tall and short. I was like that when I did cross-country skiing too. I could win one day and be number 68 the next. When it’s right, it’s right for me, and when it doesn’t, it can go very wrong, she continues. – She is a big star, so they will probably go to great lengths to show that she can become a star in biathlon as well, but it is becoming urgent to show results, otherwise she will probably lose her World Cup place again, Torgeir Bjørn believes. But giving up has not been an option for Nilsson. – I didn’t switch to avoid a challenge, so I think it’s cool to be able to solve a problem. Watch the Biathlon World Cup, women’s relay, on NRK1 on Wednesday at 15.10. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is to be put in the chains of the hymen together with her fiancé Trygve Markset in the summer. Before this year’s biathlon season, she issued a warning to fiancé Tiril Eckhoff. Now she regrets it.
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Failure for Stina Nilsson in the comeback – thinks new boyfriend has given an energy boost – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
