Biathlon: Martin Ponsiluoma and Sebastian Samuelsson think the track is too icy
Sebastian Samuelsson, Martin Ponsiluoma and Viktor Brandt were all expected to be on the top step of the individual short of the opening Swedish biathlon races, but in the end it was not to be. It was Ukraine’s Vitalii Mandzyn, author of an impeccable 18/20, who surprised everyone on Saturday morning.
A solid winner by a margin of almost 45 seconds, the 21-year-old biathlete taught his rivals a real lesson on the day. It was a setback that had already caused a stir in Sweden. Only fifth and eighth at the finish with a disappointing 16/20, Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma lamented the difficult snow conditions.
“It was a joke today. The track became completely frozen and it became difficult, said Martin Ponsiluoma to SVT Sport in the mixed zone. It’s annoying when you can only be at 50% of your capacity.”
For his team-mate Sebastian Samuelsson, beaten by more than a minute on the ski times by Viktor Brandt (15/20), third on the day, it was a similar story at the finish: “I did my best today but it wasn’t possible to attack,” he said.
Read also
