The start of the World Cup did not go as Hanna Öberg had wished. The placement row of 25-13-13-24-66 in the individual races speaks its clear language, it has not been a biathlon star to recognize. Neither in terms of skiing nor shooting.
It's a cold that has put a stop to it. Öberg got sick before the season start, but recovered and went with to the two first competitions in Kontiolahti and Hochfilzen.
But after the 66th place, Johannes Lukas pulled the handbrake and let the star go home to Östersund instead of competing further in Hochfilzen and in the week's competitions in France.
It was quite easy to say that now we should be smart. Go home, rest a bit and feel that the body is 100 percent ready, says Lukas.
No parallels
Lukas means that it's not possible to draw any parallels with the season start two years ago when Öberg had some less successful competitions and later acknowledged that motivation was lacking and she had thoughts of quitting.
No, not at all. I think we've had very good conversations. And she was in super good shape before she got sick. She skied great and was maybe better than ever, he says.
Hanna Öberg now gets almost four weeks to recharge at home before the World Cup starts again in mid-January.
It's now about just giving the body the time it needs, and then making a smart build-up towards January, says Lukas.
You can't be stupid now, the first step is that the body should recover, then she can start training with calm passes. It's at least two weeks of basic training that she needs. She had such a good basic form before she got sick and that's what we want to get back to.
Hoping for the same effect
Two years ago, Öberg first had motivation problems, and then got sick. A couple of months later, she stood as World Championship queen with two golds, one silver, and one bronze.
Can it be a similar effect now?
That's of course the wish, but the World Championship is still so far away. A lot can happen on the way there, Lukas means.
Born: November 2, 1995 (29 years old), grew up in Svensbyn outside Piteå.
Lives: Östersund.
Club: Piteå Biathlon Club.
Main merits: Olympic Games: 2 gold, 1 silver. World Championship: 3 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze. Eleven individual World Cup wins, including three in the World Championship.
This week, the World Cup skiers compete in Le Grand Bornand in France, followed by a Christmas break.
Here are the competitions until the World Championship:
January 9-12: Oberhof, Germany
January 15-19: Ruhpolding, Germany
January 23-26: Antholz, Italy
World Championship:
February 12-23: Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
