On Tuesday, the Norwegian Biathlon Union announced the team for the World Cup series to be held in Oberhof, Germany, in January. Olympic champion and three-time world champion Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen was dropped from the team.
Christiansen, who took the podium at the MK stage in Östersund, Sweden in early December, didn’t fit in with the Norwegian team. “Among the men it is very tough at the top right now. Even though many competitors have already achieved good results this winter, no one has a sure ticket to the MK stages,” said Per-Arne Botnan, head coach of the Norwegian team .
The 31-year-old Norwegian’s place on the Oberhof MK stage was replaced by 24-year-old Johan-Olav Botn, who has reached the podium in all nine IBU Cup series competitions this season with six first places.
“Johan-Olav is a very strong skier and has competed at the highest level in the IBU Cup series. That’s why he will have a chance in the MK series. It’s tough, even for the selectors,” the coach added. .
This season, seven different Norwegians have already finished in the top three at stages of the World Cup series.
The Norwegian Biathlon Union added that Christiansen is already 10-14. written on stage in Ruhpolding Germany until January, the sub-association has to make a difficult decision again.
2023-12-19 12:08:00
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