In July, biathlon stars Martin Ponsiluoma and Hanna Öberg revealed that they were going to be parents. This means a different biathlon season awaits them both. Öberg will not compete, Ponsiluoma is unsure how much he will be on the starting line.
It will of course be a special season when Hanna stays home and we are going to have a small child. But I am looking forward to the season and will compete as much as I can. Then it is difficult to plan how much, how Hanna will feel and how everything has gone. You have to be a little flexible there, says Ponsiluoma.
The 30-year-old believes that the season will be affected primarily at the beginning of winter.
Children before Christmas
It's mainly before Christmas that it might be affected a little, but after that I'll compete a lot if I can. We're going to have a child at the beginning of winter. You don't know if it'll be early or late or... Yes, it's hard to know when the little one will come.
During this summer's World Cup, both Gabriel Gudmundsson and Jesper Karlström missed the birth of their children as they were at the championship with the national football team. Ponsiluoma will not choose any World Cup competition over the birth.
Hanna probably won't allow it, I'll be there. It's not something you want to miss either, but I'll be home if you notice it's getting close.
“Ready for something else”
The couple has been together since 2021 and live together in Östersund.
It's a very fun future and something we've been looking forward to for a while. We've been around a long time so we know how to do biathlon, but to bring in something new I think is very positive.
Elvira Öberg will have to manage without big sister Hanna during the World Cup circus.
"It's clear that I will miss Hanna at the competitions. But I know that she will follow the competitions quite diligently, so she is no more than a call away," says Elvira Öberg.
Missing in relay
It will be really exciting and fun for her of course, and for us as a family.
Hanna Öberg has been a key player in the Swedish relay team in recent years. Now that gap will need to be filled by another biathlete.
"It could be a good chance for many young people to try to take the place that many want. You have to see it as a positive thing. It's always fun with competition and with many variations that we can come up with," says national team captain Johannes Lukas.
November 26–29, Kontiolax, Finland, World Cup premiere.
February 10–21, Otepää, Estonia, Biathlon World Championships.
March 11–14, Östersund, Sweden, the World Cup on home soil.
March 18–21, Oslo/Holmenkollen, Norway, World Cup final.
