– It has been very nerve-wracking, says Tiril Eckhoff. Last week, the biathlete beat fellow skier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in the knockout duel. She was not as lucky this week. In his third night test, the opponent was too strong. Feeling of panic This week offered several challenges for the remaining seven participants. For some, panic broke out in the evening’s first competition. – It was the sickest experience I had here, says Tiril Eckhoff about the exercise “The Wall”. Here the athletes had to dig a hole under a wall in the sand. Then they were to carry themselves and one stick at a time through to the other side. Skier Anders Aukland takes a superb victory. In the meantime, both the heart rate and the frustration are increasing among several people who are stuck: Especially with footballer Pål André Helland, who has to fight by far the hardest. INCLUDED: One pc. tired and frustrated football player takes a foot on the ground after freeing himself from “The Wall’s” grip. Helland completes the exercise and secures one point. Photo: Alice Asplund / Nordisk Banijay/news When all the others are at the finish line, he finally pries himself free. And takes a well-deserved break. Double gold for Bryhn Fortunately for Helland, the evening’s second competition was a more positive affair. In “Stokkekast” the gang simply had to throw a stick as far as possible: Helland impresses. But his longest throw only holds for silver. Shooter Ole-Kristian Bryhn once again runs away with the victory. Indoor bandy player Birgitte Lersbryggen secures a solid third place. Figure skater Camilla Gjersem, on the other hand, has to settle for bottom place. Then the stage was set for a classic that looks lighter than it really is. Because in “Tranen” it doesn’t take long before you feel stiff leg muscles. And then there was this balance, then: Once again shooter Ole-Kristian Bryhn delivers gold. – It feels incredibly good. I probably didn’t think I was going to win, but I knew I had a good chance, he says happily. Marit Malm Frafjord takes the win in his first night test. Photo: Screen dump / news – It’s been fun For Tiril Eckhoff, the adventure stops here. The biathlete would have liked to have gone further in the competition. But at the same time believes that it had not been deserved. – I was actually quite bad in these exercises, she says with a laugh. Eckhoff is one of Norway’s greatest biathletes of all time. She has two gold, two silver and four bronze in the Olympics. In addition, she has ten gold, two silver and three bronze in the WC. Eckhoff singles out the WC gold on home soil in 2016 as a highlight of his career. Here she gets a hug from the king after her effort. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB With her 29 victories, the 33-year-old is also the all-time winningest Norwegian woman in the Biathlon World Cup. In the summer and autumn of 2022, she struggled with the after-effects of the coronavirus and later had to sit out the competition season. In March last year, she chose to quit. A decision she feels good about. – I am very confident that it was the right decision. But it’s a bit strange not to be part of a team anymore, she says to news. MISSING TEAM FEELING: Tiril Eckhoff on the gold team in the relay at the 2020 World Cup in biathlon. Photo: LEONHARD FOEGER / Reuters The athlete is far from unemployed during the day. She works as an expert commentator on TV 2. In addition, she wants to complete a bachelor’s degree. In the Master of Masters, she thinks it has been fun to feel her competitive instinct and nervousness again. – I have never experienced being so nervous before, she says to news. But most of all she will miss the people. – I have gotten to know a lot of cool people. Two of the best biathletes gave up at the same time, aged 32. With completely different starting points, Tiril Kampenhaug Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Røiseland can look back on incredible careers.
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– Never been so nervous before – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
