– Today I actually had a slightly worse feeling in my lungs than yesterday. I had to cough and cough a bit before the start, get some phlegm out. But when I started and got into it, it went well, says a relieved Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen after third place at the start of the hunt on Sunday. And exactly mucus in the lungs has been a problem for several Norwegian athletes after they contracted an illness in late summer, without them having found out how to overcome the problem. – After the normal distance last Sunday, I had my worst 24 hours as an athlete – afterwards there. I got up twice and thought I was going to throw up. I had to go on the second milligram of Paracet at two in the morning. I had a very, very bad headache, and was dehydrated out of another world, reveals Christiansen. MOUTHPIECE: Both Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and Sturla Holm Lægreid have used a mouthpiece (hanging around the neck here) to warm up the lungs. Photo: news He had to sit out the start of the season at Sjusjøen due to illness, and thinks his body was shocked by the first hard ski race in several months. During the painful night in Östersund, he even feared that his future in the national team could be in danger. – It is not just the body that gets tired, the brain also gets tired and worried. Sport is the basis of our lives, and on the Norwegian team you will be kicked out if you are not good enough. At the start of the season, it’s terrible to be Norwegian, says the biathlete. BLOW BACK: Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen got some good answers when he was third at the start of the chase, behind Philipp Nawrath and Sebastian Samuelsson. Photo: AFP – And I’m at least as uncertain as I was before today, because everyone here has a podium place anyway, he adds. – Surkling like a COPD patient That doesn’t exactly apply to Sturla Holm Lægreid. He has also struggled with his lungs and his form has been lacking, without him fully understanding why. After a 20th and 25th place at the weekend, he considered going home to train, but last season’s World Cup runners-up were also selected for this weekend’s race in Hochfilzen. – There are many good ones in the IBU Cup who want to go too, and if I’m buzzing around and can’t find out about a health problem, then maybe it’s better to deal with it properly first. I don’t feel that I can put my finger on what’s wrong with me, and then maybe it’s the capacity in my lungs, says a slightly bewildered Lægreid. HARD: Sturla Holm Lægreid had a hard time on the track during the 20-kilometer distance in Östersund and was a full 2.45 behind Sebastian Samuelsson in the cross-country time. Photo: AP Both Christiansen and Lægreid have used a mouthpiece, a so-called heat exchanger, before the race to warm up their lungs in the cold Swedish air. And although, after a doctor’s examination, there is little indication that the athletes’ condition gets worse from hard training and competitions, Christiansen was uncertain about the aforementioned normal distance. – The lungs were terrible. It was sulking like a coal patient who was soon to give up. It didn’t feel good. We have tried our hand at medicines, some asthma medicine in both spray and tablet form, without feeling that it has been revolutionary. I think I’ll slow down a bit, normalize the condition a bit going forward, he explains. Unsure of which virus The athletes have not tested positive for Covid, and the biathletes’ national team doctor Ola Berger believes it is a virus from last autumn that has caused the problems. – We have not been able to say exactly which virus it is, but it has caused prolonged bronchitis in these athletes. Many cold viruses can cause that, he says to news. And the doctor sees light at the end of the tunnel. – They would not have qualified for the World Cup if they were not in good enough shape. We feel they are almost back, but there was a period where they trained less than planned, But it will come, assures Berger.
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Christiansen opens up about nightmare night – fears for the national team place – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
