In the relays this winter when the Swedes wore hair ties with blue and yellow ribbons, they have been on the podium.
I usually say I'm not that shy, but I realize I am anyway. I can't wear certain glasses because they bring bad luck, I can't wear certain hair ties, I can't braid my hair a certain way... so I think I've become a little shy, but not too bad, says Elvira Öberg with a laugh.
Trembling legs
Behind the silver, the Swedish women's fifth consecutive championship medal, was primarily Elvira Öberg's flawless shooting and skiing, which brought Sweden from sixth to second place.
But it wasn't easy for her in the shooting.
"It was a struggle; I shook so terribly. I think my leg started shaking from the second shot, so I just had to fight," she says.
"I felt that if I started taking extra shots then, it rarely gets less shaky the longer you stand on the mat. So it was just about trying to set the shots so I could get out of there as quickly as possible. I'm very happy that I managed to do that," she says.
“Super proud”
The medal and the perfect shooting were revenge for being put in the mixed relay earlier, which had disappointed her. And then there were two costly misses in the distance race where she came in 13th place. And then she finished 27th in the sprint when she missed two shots and shot worse than she usually does. And in the pursuit she had five misses and finished 23rd.
"It's, of course, a relief and mostly joy, really. If you go to the Olympics, and I know what level I really am, it's clear that you don't want to go home empty-handed. So this medal means a lot," she says.
For the pursuit start, she had fast skis, she had the fastest time on the track, and she carried that feeling with her to the relay.
"I have a better feeling now in the second half of the championship. I feel my body responding and I am super happy that I made all ten shots. I am super proud of my performance today."
