The Swedish women’s relay in boss mode at Hochfilzen
A recital. Sweden took the lead of the women’s relay in Hochfilzen (Austria) as soon asElla Halvarsson accelerated in the first lap, and never relinquished it again until the finish an hour later. The 26-year-old biathlete, Anna Magnusson, Elvira Oeberg and Hanna Oeberg won the World Cup race on Saturday 13 December.
A one-man race
In total control, arriving at the shooting range alone, the Scandinavian team was able to recite its score. Not only did they set the fastest skiing time, they also set the fastest shooting time and used the fewest picks in front of the targets. Only one statistic eluded them: the fastest relay. Hanna Oeberg finished 3 seconds off the best mark in the field (Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide), but preferred to celebrate in the home straight.
And she didn’t seem to regret it, despite losing the €1,000 she’d spent on it. “I managed it calmly. Given the small margin, I could have got it, but I wasn’t looking for this victory,” she told SVT. “It was really pleasing. Seeing Ella and Anna dominate like that inspired me to do the same”, said Elvira Oeberg, the third relay runner.
Sweden is off to a roaring start to the season. Anna Magnusson wears the yellow leader’s bib after a string of three individual podium finishes. Ella Halvarsson also won the season-opening mixed singles relay, in a duet with Sebastian Samuelsson.
The latter was also 4th overall in the men’s race, having twice climbed onto the box. Both teams finished on the Nations Cup podium (2nd in the women’s race, 3rd in the men’s). ” I’m very happy about that,” concludes Elvira Oeberg, unsurprisingly.
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- “I had no fear”: Tommaso Giacomel’s risky but successful gamble on the standing sprint shot in Hochfilzen
- “I’m happy to already be in the match”: after the “rage” of Östersund, how Eric Perrot picked up the gauntlet to take second place in the Hochfilzen sprint.
- The joy of Philipp Horn, who scored his first World Cup podium in Hochfilzen: “I’ve finally managed to have a perfect race”.
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- “I wanted to focus on the manner”: a change of mindset synonymous with victory in the Hochfilzen sprint for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Julia Simon, 19th in the Hochfilzen sprint on her comeback: “It’s difficult to get back on a train that’s already moving”.
- Julia Simon rested, Camille Bened starts: the French women’s relay team in Hochfilzen
- Hochfilzen: Eric Perrot, the boss with 20/20, triumphs in the pursuit
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- “For me, that’s happiness”: winner of the Hochfilzen pursuit with the perfect shot, Eric Perrot treated himself to a shot of “pleasure”.
