– In any case, he wasn’t going to help Norway, so then I just had to grit my teeth and lead the way. It happened as it happened, a disappointed Lægreid told news. On the TV picture at the top of the case, you can clearly see a confrontation between Lægreid and Ponsiluoma. – Thinking he was a good fellow, Lægreid stopped and wanted the Swede to take the lead, but the Swede refused and Lægreid threw his arms out in despair. – Did he say that he would not help a Norwegian? – Yes, he said that. “I will not help a Norwegian”. That was the tactic from the Swedes today, says Lægreid, still slightly disappointed. PROVIDED: Sturla Holm Lægreid. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB – I guess I was a bit frustrated. Maybe I had it with me on the shooting, says Lægreid He shot one bomb on the next shooting after the situation. – I’m a bit surprised, I thought he was a good guy, but “Ponsi” showed himself from a different side today, says Lægreid according to Expressen. Tarjei Bø is not surprised by the Swedish’s tactical game. – Yes, they have to make their moves to beat us, and we all do what we can to hold on to our aces for as long as we can. The Swedes solved it very well. It is a very tactically strong team, says Bø to news. Hanna Öberg had to hold her hands over her ears when the World Cup organizer fired up loud witch howlers in the stadium to end the championship. – Don’t know what he thought about Ponsiluoma claims there was no tactic behind the election. – No, we didn’t have that. But I thought I should go as calmly as possible and save energy in the end, so it wouldn’t have mattered who rented out, I hadn’t helped, says the Swedish silver winner. – What did you say to Sturla? – I said he can go, I stay behind and save myself. He is reigning champion and Norwegian, and then he gets to take responsibility. DOUBLE: It was a Swedish double victory at the WC joint start with gold for Sebastian Samuelsson and silver for Martin Ponsiluoma. Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP When the situation arose, Lægreid and Ponsiluoma went toe-to-toe with French Fabien Claude, and the Norwegian wanted them to cooperate in order to keep, among others, Johannes Thingnes Bø and Sebastian Samuelsson behind them. When the Swede refused to contribute, the trio was also unable to hold off the competitors from behind and lost the lead going into the second lying shooting. – I don’t know what he was thinking. If he had perhaps helped me a little, he might have had the tiny lead he needed on Sebbe, but I think Sweden is satisfied today. I think Ponsi is also satisfied with silver, even if he is behind Sebbe, says Lægreid. He is certain that the Norwegian team had thought differently and helped to keep the gap open. – We have a good team spirit, so if I had gone there with Johannes, for example, he would have helped me and dragged me on the round, but Ponsiluoma thought quite differently. There are some practitioners who think that we have to help each other when we hire and then there are others who think they should do the least possible, says Lægreid. – Maybe we should have gone more team tactically. Nevertheless, he admits that that tactic proved to be the best for the Swedes, who won both gold and silver with Sebastian Samuelsson and the aforementioned Ponsiluoma. – They had probably laid out a good tactic before today. The rest of us were perhaps more individualists. Maybe we should have gone more team tactically, says Lægreid. – Did they self-criticize about it? – No, so we have twenty percent of the starting field today, so if we had gone tactically as a team, we would have dominated all the rounds, Lægreid answers with a sly smile. DOUBTS: Tarjei Bø doesn’t think Sweden won because of the tactics. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Nor does Bø think it was the tactics that tipped the victor in Sweden’s favour. – No, I don’t think so. He shoots 20 hits and wins. If you can’t do it when you shoot 20 in those conditions here, then I don’t think you’re Norwegian or Swedish, because then you wouldn’t have made the team, smiles Bø. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen believes the Swedes have a big advantage over the Norwegian biathlon stars. – I won’t take any credit away from them, but they have a little more patience than us to be able to top form. If I had had Sebastian’s season, I would hardly have been on the World Cup team or here in the WC. They are a little lucky to have an almost fixed World Cup team, which goes regardless of how well it goes. And yes, then they can get a little more time towards a World Cup and not feel as much pressure at each World Cup round as perhaps we have, Sjåstad Christiansen concludes.
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