There were tricky wind conditions on the shooting range in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, when the World Championship distance race over 20 kilometers was to be decided.
For Sebastian Samuelsson, medal chances disappeared at the second shooting. There, he got three misses in standing.
"Curtain down"
It feels very good in my body today. It feels like I'm getting into the competition in a good way with the first prone. I feel fully focused and ready for the first standing. Inspired and it's fun. Then I miss three and then it's curtain down, says Sebastian Samuelsson in the mixed zone.
Samuelsson finished with a total of six misses for a 47th place and was the worst of the Swedish skiers.
It's rare that I get so disappointed during a race. I feel that it was hard to motivate myself after that. I just feel a disappointment that the competition ends so quickly, he says.
Martin Ponsiluoma is one of the absolute fastest skiers, but usually has a hard time with shooting. Now, the 29-year-old came to the third and penultimate shooting with only one miss, but there were two misses in prone. There were two more misses in the final standing shooting and the chance of a medal was definitely gone. Ponsiluoma finished 19th.
Nelin best Swedish
The best Swedish skier was Jesper Nelin (three misses) in 14th place. Viktor Brandt (five) finished 42nd.
Regardless, it's too many misses, despite the conditions, says shooting coach Jean-Marc Chabloz, who only gave Nelin a pass, to SVT.
The Swedes were in good company. Not even World Championship king Johannes Thingnes Bø – gold in sprint and pursuit – got it right. Already in the first, prone, shooting, the Norwegian had three misses and he finished with a total of five misses for a 20th place.
The gold was taken by Frenchman Eric Perrot in superior style. With only one miss, Perrot – bronze medalist in pursuit – was more than 52 seconds ahead of second-placed Tommaso Giacomel, Italy, at the finish. The bronze was taken by Quentin Fillon Maillet, France.
