– It doesn’t look good. And going out last after every shooting is a terrible feeling, says Marit Ishol Skogan to news. Last year she went to the Norgescup, which can be called level three in biathlon and out of nowhere she suddenly took 3rd place in Lenzerheide. Since then she has taken part in the World Cup, and also went to the WC in Nove Mesto. During Saturday’s joint start in Holmenkollen, she finished last of all. She stood with seven missed shots after the two lying shootings, and finished the race 5.37 minutes behind winner Lara Häcki-Gross. She missed half of all the shots she took. HARD DAY: Marit Ishol Skogan. Photo: NTB – Someone has to come last too, she says with a small smile. news’s experts were stunned by all the bombing during Saturday’s race. Not just for Skogan’s part, but for everyone. But for Skogan, it was a sign that enough is enough. – Nothing funny To news, she says that during that final round she decided to take a break. – What I have done up until now has not worked, so I can only hope that the good feeling returns and that I can finish in a slightly better way than I have done up until now, she says to news. Now she is preparing herself for the rest of the World Cup, which continues in North America after the chutes in Holmenkollen – There will probably be no trip across the pond. I put it down on the last round today. It’s no fun going all the way there if you don’t have a good feeling either on the trail or the pitch. So the World Cup circus is over for me, so I just have to take with me what I’ve done so far. Skogan joked quite a bit with news’s reporters in Norway’s national facility. The highlight of the day, according to herself, was the jump she delivered over the last bullet before the race: – I thought I had to put on a bit of a show, because I couldn’t do it on the course or on the stand, she continues. – It doesn’t look good. And going out last after every shooting is a terrible feeling. But at the same time I was here in Holmenkollen and they were cheering after each penalty round, so the cheering team was there. But it wasn’t fun. I can’t say anything else, she says. – I think it’s a bit of everything. There are more barriers at the joint start than normal and sprints in general. Then there was a bit of a demanding wind too. Especially when lying down, I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know which way to turn and screwed myself completely, I think. It was just complete chaos in the cylinder head. There is a bit of wind between the ears and wind everywhere, sums up Skogan. National team coach Patrick Oberegger had not yet been able to speak to Skogan, and he had not heard of the plans to wreck himself. – We will talk together now, he answered quickly. PS! At 15.20, the men will walk their 15 kilometers in Holmenkollen. You can follow the race here. SHOOTING TROUBLE: There were many misses during the women’s joint start on Saturday. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB – Very unusual It was those who missed the least – naturally – who were rewarded for their precision. Swiss Lena Häcki-Gross, who had two misses, won the race in Holmenkollen. She won ahead of Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot, while Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold was Norway’s best in fourth place. Several of the big guns struggled to stand this Saturday, and the penalty rounds were by no means reserved for the supposedly weaker runners. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who was completely superb on Friday’s normal distance, scored four misses. Two of the misses came from prone shooting, and one of the misses was described by Lunde – characteristically – as “a rough miss”. – It is very unusual for Ingrid, she usually has steel control, especially when lying down, says news’s biathlon expert Synnøve Solemdal. But Tandrevold was happy about the standing shooting. – I am very happy with my standing shooting. I fell a little behind at the start, but managed to catch up again. That’s what I’m trying to focus on now, that I really work with every single shot, says Tandrevold to news. She struggled with it during the WC in Nove Mesto, but the standing shooting has seen an upswing since the setbacks in the Czech Republic. PALLEN GLAPP: Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold had to settle for fourth place. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB The French star Julia Simon had just as many missed shots. Sweden’s Elvira Öberg, who finished in 10th place, missed five times. Ida Lien, who took the first podium of her career during Friday’s normal distance, finished in 21st place with five penalty rounds. – I think it was a bit of fun to go to the joint start here on home ground. I heard on the fourth lap that I wasn’t too far behind, so I thought I’d just have to go for it. Then maybe I went a little hard for it and got a bit of a burn on the last shooting. It’s a bit annoying, but that’s just the way it is, says Lien to news after the race. Karoline Knotten was number 26, i.e. fifth last, over three minutes behind the Swiss winner. There were five misses on her. – It was in some ways good, in some ways extremely disappointing. I guess I’ll just have to take it as a bad day. It’s not something I do often. That shooting today was not me, says Knotten to news.
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