With 20 out of 20 hits for the first time at a normal distance, Karoline Knotten could quickly secure her first podium of the season. But on the trail it didn’t go so well. On her way out of the final shooting, she had a nosebleed, and before the finish line she walked straight into the snow, losing as much as almost a minute to the unbeatable Dorothea Wierer in the last round. – It’s nice to shoot well when you don’t quite keep up otherwise. It was good to achieve. It will be an OK result on the list. In the last three rounds, I’m really done. It’s about getting around. I didn’t feel so good. My nose bleeds from the start, and I sniffle on the way to the finish line. It’s a bit like that day, she admits after finishing 9th. PERFECT: On the stand, Karoline Knotten was flawless with 20 out of 20 hits. – Blurred vision Knotten does not think the nosebleed is a sign of anything serious. – When I have nosebleeds, it’s a troublesome element, a bit disturbing. Then I try a sprint and run downhill. I lose quite a bit on that too, but it’s not where it smokes, it’s heavy today, she says, and elaborates: BLOOD: The knob started to bleed from the nose during the run in Sweden. Photo: news – I have thin blood vessels in my nose, so there doesn’t have to be any stress, but sometimes I’m tired and bleed, and sometimes I’m in top shape and bleed. It is typical that you are a little tired towards the end of the season. – It seems that it also happened in Nove Mesto, and this can occur in dry air, as it is here. It may be affecting Karoline, we’ll look into that now. Nosebleeds are not unusual, says the biathletes’ doctor, Ola Berger, Fallet explains to Knotten that she wanted to give up the last part, as part of an internal sprint competition in the team. – It’s a bit unusual that it’s so cold too, so my vision is a bit blurry and my face is completely stiff. It’s a bit hard to say. I was done and struggling to stay on my feet. Knotten has had a slightly variable season after the cycling crash last spring, but finished the WC with a strong sixth place in the joint start. But after the championship in Oberhof, she had stomach problems. Specifically, a parasite in the stomach. – It is much better now than it has been, but I will not say that there are no after-effects. This may be partly why you don’t feel 100 per cent and have extra strength. It has been difficult to get food in and keep it down, says Knotten, who believes she had enough energy to run the race. THE PODIUM: It was an Italian double victory with Dorothea Wierer ahead of Lisa Vittozzi and Denise Herrmann-Wick. Photo: ANDERS WIKLUND / AFP – A hopeless day Tandrevold became the best Norwegian woman, with seventh place. She was faultless until the last stand, when there were two misses. – It was fun to be able to be all the way up there, but I’m a bit annoyed about the last standing where I’m not quite at the start of the series, she explains. Marte Olsbu Røiseland, who took two victories in Nove Mesto last week, had a very bad start with two additional minutes in the first prone shooting. There were also two misses on the first stand. HARD DAY: Marte Olsbu Røiseland got a total of five bans on the 15-kilometer course. Photo: Anders Wiklund / AP – A completely hopeless day for Marte today, determined Ola Lunde. In the end, the native ended up with five additional minutes, and she had no good explanation. – I got a screw message after the first one, and don’t know what it looked like on the second one. It was a very boring start, with two misses, it ruins the race, says Røiseland, who has never shot flawlessly in a 15-kilometer race. – I have to talk to Patrick (Oberegger, shooting coach) about it before I know. I have no answers, she adds after finishing 55th.
ttn-69
– It’s a bit blurry – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
