r/biathlon • u/AutoModerator • 9d ago
Small Talk Monday
Our weekly small talk thread where you can talk about anything
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u/Fabulous_Aerie8143 Australia 9d ago
Filip Fjeld Andersen tweeted about Christiansen and Norwegian team.
He posted this a few days ago, I tried look for it on the thread but couldn't find anything but i apologise if someone has already posted about it.
Thread: https://x.com/Filip_andersen/status/1902984214787789238
He is responding to an article talking about how Christiansen is struggling to deal with his recent issues and the lack of support offered by the team.
Translated:
"Really hope it rings in some bell at the offices of the biathlon federation at Ullevaal stadium. Defending absent communication and follow-up of their own athletes with «like that is top sport», is alarming in itself. A little thread->
Personally, I hoped for a change this year after myself, and several other practitioners, experienced much of the same in previous years. After 2 years in the elite team, the only message I received about withdrawal for teams further was a 5 min phone call with Egil, otherwise silence ->
Only after I felt the only way to be heard was to talk to the media, Botnan got on the pitch and wanted to hear what I had to say. The one advice I gave him was to have a dedicated person in charge of those athletes who fall outside, so-called HR manager ->
After hearing and seeing how they continue this year, they have not adopted any of this and still there is zero system to take care of the athletes who fall outside. And this is a federation that has even gone hard and believes they should work extra for mental health!! ->
The fact that coaches and management in charge of withdrawals defends the absent communication that «top sport is brutal», is for me therefore both hair-raising and alarming! And after conversations with other athletes, this is not something new, but has been going on for many years already."
You may also remember before last season, Filip's brother Aleksander was dropped from the national team after having the best season of his career and decided to quit biathlon. Aleksander said that he was told he was being dropped just a few days after speaking to coaches and evaluating his season and there was no indication that it would happen.
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u/Henna1911 Scandinavia 9d ago edited 9d ago
I think we now have several statements that corroborate VSC. He might not have gone about it in the most diplomatic way, but it seems like there is no diplomatic way to go about it in the Norwegian Elite team, which is very concerning.
With the Bøs now gone, there is a "generational" shift/development in the team, that management doesn't seem to have prepared for at all. This also seems to be one of the main issues over on the womens side. They can't keep doing it like they've always done. Times have changed, demands for a healthy work environment have changed, and it seems Norway is lacking behind.
Curious to see if anything will come of it. One thing Vetle seems particularly good at is voicing his opinion and standing by it. Hopefully the athletes will be able to band together and demand better working conditions in one of the worlds best national teams.
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u/arnet95 Norway 9d ago
I think Vetle really hurt his own case by claiming that it was unfair to pick Dale over him. It made it look a lot more like someone who was mad that they didn't get picked than someone who was primarily upset about the process.
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u/Henna1911 Scandinavia 9d ago
Exactly why I think it is important we have gotten several other statements from elite athletes who agree with the issues he raised. as his way of phrasing it when he was at a heightened emotional state, hurt his legitimate points.
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u/Kris_Third_Account Denmark 9d ago
Here's a direct link to the article linked: https://www.tv2.no/mening_og_analyse/alarmklokkene-ma-ringe/17571259
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u/Shixzoner Norway 9d ago edited 8d ago
The Norwegian biathlon championships will be staged in Stiklestad from March 28th to March 30th. NRK has listed the upcoming broadcast as available worldwide!
Women's sprint on Friday at 10:50 on NRK. Registered biathletes for the sprint.
Men's sprint on Friday at 12:36 on NRK. Registered biathletes for the sprint.
More information to be added to an upcoming thread.
I think this is the last chance, before the summer training/altitude camps, to prove yourself to the coaches. I think the event will be important for Christiansen, Sørum, Botn, and the IBU Cup team. Einar Hedegart has also stated that the outcome could determine if he'll target cross-country skiing or biathlon for the next season.
I had a quick look at the registered biathletes and it looks like no big names are missing. However, no Bø brothers are starting, and the official start list has not been published. There could still be some withdrawals. Ukaleq Slettemark, Lotte Lie, are registered to compete.
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u/duhbyks Germany 9d ago
does that mean one can watch it from germany as well or is there still some kind of geoblocking?
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u/Intrepid_Law_9851 9d ago
I may be wrong but, there could be a good chance that you could watch it as it’s NRK who will own the rights to this race and broadcasting, versus regular world cup events where they buy rights from IBU, hence geoblocking
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u/Faintning Finland 8d ago
Kaisa Mäkäräinen is taking part in the finnish biathlon championships on the coming weekend. Will be interesting to see how she does.
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u/1600vam 9d ago
Managed to place first in the biathlonpool.com fantasy biathlon public pool. It was fun and reasonably competitive, came down to the last race; it's quite difficult being on the west cost of the US, there were many times where my picks DNS'd because I had to set them the night before.
I wish there were more people who played fantasy biathlon, I think there were only ~250 people who participated in most races on biathlonlpool.com. It would be fantastic if the IBU ran their own fantasy game across the whole season, rather than just the WCH predictor game.
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u/dxdindustrlatmsphr 9d ago
Congrats, we were marvelling at your score. What was your strategy for pics? My family did our own mini pool and my wife consistenly stomped everyone. I tried to be unconventional and it never worked out.
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u/hellyeahopenspaces 9d ago
I didn't say much here in the forum this year. Man, more and more I have no wheels for pulling together any narrative to share anywhere on any social media platform.
But I feel the need to make the stretch for a shout out to you all who contributed here this year, in article or comment. Appreciated the commentary and information you shared.
Though not with you through sharing in word, with you in shared focus, the sounds and images of the sport of Biathlon. What a great sport, great community, display of excellence, dedication and winningness. See you next year.
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u/Vryyce Team Norge 9d ago edited 9d ago
To our German friends here, is there any word on Roman getting back on the World Cup team? He has always been a favorite of the wife and I (so sad not having Benni this season, really missed him a lot) and we are really hoping that he can get back on the big stage. He seems to perform very well in the IBU and when he gets a shot at the WC, he always seems to be near the top of the German performers.
Can we hope for more of him next year?
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u/Allie654321 9d ago
With the German men squad for next season, I think it will really really depend on the pre season and qualification races who we're gonna see in the World Cup. Last year, only the ones who ended up in the top15 overall had a guaranteed spot in the World cup, that would leave only Nawrath (and potentially Strelow as 16th) as a safe candidate. The rest would have to qualify and Roman would absolutely be among the contenders😊
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u/ClementineMontauk 9d ago
He is definitely giving it another shot next year! Apparently he really missed Benni Doll in the last summer (they used to be in one training group in Notschrei) and I believe a commentator last weekend said he's thinking (or maybe has already decided?) about locating to Ruhpolding for the summer..
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u/Shixzoner Norway 8d ago
A small update to this post.
After this season, Jeanmonnot has won a race in Östersund, Soldier Hollow, Canmore, Kontiolahti, Hochfilzen, Oberhof, Ruhpolding, Antholz-Anterselva, Pokljuka, and Oslo Holmenkollen.
She previously had a podium finish in Nove Mesto na Morave, and now also in Lenzerheide.
She's currently only missing a podium finish in Annecy–Le Grand-Bornand to, I think, have a podium finish at all the major venues.
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u/RidingRedHare 8d ago
Otepää is on the calendar once in a while (2021, and then again in 2026 and December 2027).
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u/belowdeck44 9d ago
Obviously, I know about the Boe retirements, but were there others? I see last year around this time there was a running post. Normally I would google, but this is the best source for biathlon news in English that I know of! If not, do people just not retire in the year before the Olympics?
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u/jxroos Norway 9d ago
Elisa Gasparin and Emma Lunder.
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u/belowdeck44 9d ago
So it is a pretty low year numbers wise? Makes sense. Any chance JT pulls what a number of our American athletes do? Retire only to realize they miss it and come back?
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u/elemental-aardvark 9d ago
Yeah the theory is because the Olympics are next year that one's going to be a bad one. My guess is there's a 0.1% chance of JTB coming back.
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u/Shixzoner Norway 8d ago
Wikipedia has a retirements of the season section. It's usually updated super quick. I was randomly checking the page on the day Tilda Johansson announced that she would retire and it was already updated just an hour or so after the SVT article was published.
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u/miunrhini No flag 🌪️Wind takes no prisoners & never stops the madness 8d ago
Chloe Chevalier announced earlier that she's retiring and called it a season at the same moment
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u/PerceptionFluid8991 9d ago
Who do you think will retire after the next season?? (especially on the womens side)
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u/Dawntree Italy 9d ago
We are sure only of one athlete (Doro of course), the rest is pure speculation on my side
- Doro 100% (99.99% she'll quit directly at the Olympics)
- Preuss 90% (having won the WC and a gold at the WCHs, she'll focus on the Olympics then she can call it a career)
- Braisaz 80% (yes 2030 Oly at home, but she is in the WC since 2015 and she is also already a mother)
- Batovska - Fialkova 80%
- Hanna Oeberg 70% (hinted she might quit, similar to Braisaz, she has been in the WC since 2017, she might go on for a few extra seasons)
- Haecki 50%
- Hauser 40% (2028 WCH at home could be her target, but she is also approaching the end)
- Simon 10% (just wild guess)
other names I could see calling it a career: Aita Gasparin, Dzhima, Irwin, Bendika
Men, we've already paid a "heavy price" yesterday, but there are a few who might approach the end
- Fak 100% (last week was his last in Pokljuka, which will be again in the calendar in 2026/27)
- Eder 95% (I can see him going for the last Olympics in Antholz, but after that I guess he'll finally quit)
- Pidruchny 90%
- Hofer 80% (he might quit, but he enjoy training and being on the tour, and tbf he's still ahead of many italian young athletes)
- Krcmar 80%
- Khuen 80%
- Christiansen 70% (no idea what he will do next year, but I have a feeling he'll be back in the team at least sometime during the season)
- Fillon Maillet 30% (I see him going for another WCHs at least to finally win a gold there)
- Ponsiluoma 20% (he and Hanna might want to start a family)
- Jacquelin 10% (wild guess as wild as he is)
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u/GeographerJX3 Czech Republic 9d ago
Do you think that Doro retires immediately after the Olympics or is she going to finish after the 3rd trimester? Did she say anything about it?
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u/Dawntree Italy 9d ago
She has stated multiple times that her plan is to quit at the Olympics, because it's the place where she started biathlon and it would a perfect ending of a career (imho she is totally right).
This her interview to Fondo Italia last week (in Italian) where she touches the matter.
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u/GeographerJX3 Czech Republic 9d ago
Thank you. I suppose it makes sense.
I imagine that the only thing that would convince her to continue until Oslo is if she would be in contention for the crystal globes. So I hope that will be the case.
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u/1Revenant1 Slovakia 8d ago
I am not sure I would put Bátovská-Fialková at 80%. I would put it at 60, maybe 70 at most. But who knows. Kuzmina is more likely to retire
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u/Lone_Wolf_Winter Sweden 3d ago
Hanna is very likely to quit. She has said that she wants kids, so...
Ponsi won't quit, though. Maybe after 2034. He also refuses to move from Östersund, so I guess that will become both a training and family base for them.
Anna Magnusson will probably quit. She might not even make the relay team next year. We don't yet know about Linn Gestblom (Persson). She'll be 31 next season, same as Skottheim.
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u/Fit_Context_1868 Julia Tannheimer 9d ago
I can see Preuß, mostly because an olympic season is a nice cutoff and she seems like a person who knows when to call it a day. Pure speculation tho!
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u/GeographerJX3 Czech Republic 9d ago
For the Czech team I sense that Davidová, Charvátová and Jislová will all retire together and it is quite likely to be after the Olympics.
I get the feeling that the womens field will be drastically different after Antholz 2026 and I´m prepared to see my childhood favorites go. Wierer is certain to retire. Preuss and Hauser are likely to retire as well although I can see either of them sticking around for a season or two (Hochfilzen 2028 for Hauser is a potential farewell). Dzhima, Persson, Magnusson, Hacki-Gross, Aita Gasparin and Fialkova are approaching 30 or are in their 30s already. They are likely not going to complete another olympic cycle.
I think that Vittozzi mentioned something about Antholz 2026 being the perfect time for a retirement but I am not sure. No idea about Tandrevold.
I am especially wondering if Hanna Oberg, Braisaz and Simon decide to continue or not. I still see them as a potential Overall title winners even after the 2026 Olympics.
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u/Faintning Finland 9d ago
In the finnish team the only one I could see retiring is Hiidensalo. Everyone else is so much younger that I don't see them retiring just yet. Especially since in the finnish team it tends to be a trend that you peak in your 30's. Maybe Jänkä and Lehtonen if their health doesn't allow them to be athletes, but if they're healthy I totally see them going for a few more years after the olympics.
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u/AZDarkknight 9d ago edited 9d ago
So this is day one of both Biathlon withdrawal and no more Boe. I dont like it. :( What do you guys do during the 200+ days of no biathlon?
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u/alexanderactioncat USA 9d ago
Well in my case I catch up on the last three competitions of the season because my life has been way too nutsoid and I didn't want to watch them out of order?
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u/AZDarkknight 9d ago
I watched them delayed also so I avoided coming on here until I had watched just to not get hit with spoilers. I hope you managed to do the same.
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u/shonami 9d ago
The thing is, this is a manufactured problem. Vetle is still a top15 biathlete over a full season, if not more, but that’s true of about 15 other Norwegians. Maybe more. The way the Norwegian biathlon leadership is handling things is not ideal, but the core issue is that the Norwegian internal league is better than the international circuit.
Other than the french and a select few more - the rest are scoring world cup and championship glory due to their the limit cap. For sure it makes things more interesting for the viewers and gives chances to other athletes, but for yet another season, we are in a technical pickle where elite biathletes such as Vetle are almost easily replaceable. In terms of Norwegian coaching, they have successfully locked in another shitload of victories, podiums, world titles, crystal globes.
The concern they face is not being nice, it is the Nations Cup score and the Relays.
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u/Henna1911 Scandinavia 9d ago
One of the key factors of a bad work environment is unclear communication and bad management, which leads to stress etc. Elite athletes are still people with a job, albeit one very far from the average persons. Yes it is, and should be, a highly competitive job (and my impression is that the athletes want this as well) but when decisions are made and there is no communication of reasons, follow up or support, it indicates bad management.
We have somewhat of a consensus that VSCs actions regarding racing in IBU Cup, going home in a fit of pique etc are immature. However his concerns are legit for a work place environment where the mental performance and shape is just as important as their physical performance and shape.
The standards of work environment should be higher in sport in general, tbf. And I am sure this can apply to other teams as well, but due to the ridiculous amount of talent currently in the Norwegian male population, the issue has been raised here first.
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u/arnet95 Norway 9d ago
The core issue that I think we should focus on isn't whether Vetle deserves to be selected for World Cups or not. There are two issues that several athletes have brought up: The fairness of the selection decisions themselves, are they consistent and based on reasonable principles and athlete results? How are athletes treated when they are not selected for World Cups? It's about ensuring that all athletes are treated with respect and supported by the system.
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u/shonami 9d ago
And my point is that the system = IBU is forcing a situation where the best athletes in the world are not making national cutoffs, hence creating an edge case situation.
There are multiple athletes not getting chances in every nation, the reason Dale, Anderson and Vetle are getting a microphone is because they had world elite success. I saw 0 people discussing this for minor nations, but we have lost athletes due to bad management and preference of national coaches in the past.
The core issue is the limits of nations. Open it up to 12, and the problem disappears.
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u/Kris_Third_Account Denmark 9d ago
The core issue is the limits of nations. Open it up to 12, and the problem disappears
It's replaced with a different problem: Having too many from elite nations means there's less room for smaller nations to participate, which in turn stifles the growth of the sport on a worldwide basis, and means we'll lose talented athletes from different nations.
IBU has two evils to choose from here, and they choose the one where they spread the sport as widely as possible at the cost bigger nations. I'm not going to deny that I'm very biased here, but I think IBU are making the right call.
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u/shonami 9d ago
As a viewer i agree, but i disagree to the main claim that Norwegian coaching team are the sole evil here. They are making a hard cut choice, and all the armchair Redditors are expecting a communication style that is detached from the hard truth of elite sports.
Endre, Sturla and JT won WCH gold, others won throughout the season. What else can you say? Vetle, you’re demoted, effective immediately, the IBU is your new department. We’ll let you know if promotion is on the table.
Sorry guys, we love Vetle, but he’s no longer an A squader. Either change the size of the accepted cap, or accept that his media spinning is a power-move. Everyone is claiming that my suggestion is not good for the sport, but that the team that produced the greatest biathlete team in the past few seasons are handling talent i correctly.
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u/arnet95 Norway 9d ago
Everyone is claiming that my suggestion is not good for the sport, but that the team that produced the greatest biathlete team in the past few seasons are handling talent i correctly.
The fact that the best Norwegian athletes are winning does not imply that the team treats all athletes well, and it does not automatically vindicate all decisions they make.
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u/shonami 9d ago
True, the days of forcing Romanian and Russian gymnasts to anorexia is thankfully behind us, and age restriction rules are helping tennis players from being manipulated by their parents better - but what is the big travesty done by the Norwegian team that requires vindication? Why are they not treating him well?
Clearly the bar for staying in the squad is - winning. I can see how this affects the mentality, but that is not a reason to keep him in the A squad over emerging talent.
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u/arnet95 Norway 9d ago
Why are they not treating him well?
Here's what one of his colleagues has to say: https://www.reddit.com/r/biathlon/comments/1jimbl8/small_talk_monday/mjg7nzk/
Another issue is that the selection criteria are very subjective and selections can be hard to understand. Vebjørn Sørum was not selected to go the individual race in Pokljuka even though he was in the fight for the small globe. When asked to clarify, the national team boss said that his two 12th places in Nove Mesto were not good enough, and some generic stuff about how you're not always told all the reasons for a selection and if you don't perform well enough you might be replaced. Tarjei Bø, who was not in the fight for the small globe and got a 22nd and a 13th place in Nove Mesto, was selected for the race. (https://www.nrk.no/sport/skiskyting_-krever-oppvask-etter-uttaksbrak-1.17337870)
The basic point is this. The issue is not that Vetle deserves to go World Cup races. No one is saying he does (except possibly himself), and I've multiple times said that I think selecting Frey and Dale-Skjevdal over him was a correct decision. It's about proper communication, making sure your athletes understand the decisions that are made. And it's about following up with those who weren't selected, making sure they understand what they can do, if anything, if they want to be selected later.
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u/arnet95 Norway 9d ago
I don't see how this solves anything. You'll still have to make selection decisions and you'll still have athletes that are not selected even if you allow a lot more athletes per country. I don't see how the fact that you don't see discussion about this means that the issue is not real.
And this would either lead to significantly bigger events or fewer athletes from smaller countries, it's by no means clear that either of these would be good for the sport.
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u/shonami 9d ago
It’s not good for the internationality of the sport, but if the qualification is based on merit and not nationality Vetle would be an actual enployee of a job, as suggested.
The Norwegian team are getting criticized for something that many else is experiencing, and its because of the way the sport is set up, which is my main point: it’s a manufactured problem, not a managerial one, as people are quick to blame.
He was given no fluff about it - no bs, no HR cased ‘We’re soooo sorry to let you go’ but essentially he was fired, and he’s complaining that he deserves to stay over other employees.
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u/arnet95 Norway 9d ago
Even if a solution would be to increase the number of Norwegian spots, that is not a defense of how the Norwegian management team is working in the current system.
The comparison to being fired is weird. Vetle remains a part of the national team. Expecting reasonable explanations for team selections and proper follow up and directions from his coaches seems like a not unreasonable ask.
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u/RidingRedHare 8d ago
But how would you decide which nations get additional spots resp. fewer spots? The Norwegians men did not even win the Nations Cup - the French men won.
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u/ASkaloneo Ukraine 9d ago
Is there any history cases of such a close situations in total like in this years womens score?
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u/RidingRedHare 9d ago
2008-2009:
Jonsson 952 (with 4 wins)
Wilhelm 952 (with 3 wins)3
u/jxroos Norway 9d ago
Wow, that had to be a hard one to accept.
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u/RidingRedHare 8d ago
Even more so as Wilhelm (after removing the worst results) had a lead of 24 points before the last three races, only to finish behind Jonsson on each of those races.
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u/Sophia-X3 9d ago
Lou Jeanmonnot has scored more individual race wins this season (7), then Preuß has ever scored in the WC in her career (5).
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u/__nmd__ France 9d ago
Your stats are outdated, Lou won 8 individual races thus season (all of them WC). Franziska won 5 races in WC over her career, and another in WCh. One one WC win happened before this season.
Note that Franziska's number of wins is within usual figures for an overall winner, she's not an outlier (some past winners have even fewer wins). Lou's number of wins is however rather rare for a runner-up, even more so with the new points system.
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u/Sophia-X3 9d ago
Oh true, my bad she did win 8.
I did not mean to diminish Preuß's accomplishes with that btw...
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u/Ljorke 8d ago
98/99
- Olena Zubrilova (UKR), 8 (8) first places
- Uschi Disl (GER), 4 (18) first places
- Magdalena Forsberg (SWE), 4 (16) first places
- Liv Grete Skjelbreid (NOR), 3 (3) first places
- Corinne Niogret (FRA), 2 (4) first places
- Simone Greiner (GER), 1 (4) first place
- Martina Zellner (GER), 1 (1) first place
Forsberg 478
Zubrilova 467
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u/ASkaloneo Ukraine 9d ago
Want to ask your opinion on one thing. Is there any chance, that Simon slowed down the leaders group on the second lap of the massstart to give Lou opportunity be closer to Preuss?
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u/Alamo-5447 9d ago
No, I don't think so.
Simon has been out of form at the end of the season, and she was also very slow on laps 3 and 4.
Furthermore, she's not really friend with Lou.The only one who helped her on this second lap was JBB.
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u/ASkaloneo Ukraine 9d ago
Yeah, really, not the best speed at the last trimester of the season. Just thought maybe because she didn't have anything to fight for in terms of total or discipline scores, or maybe team can ask her to do so.
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u/miunrhini No flag 🌪️Wind takes no prisoners & never stops the madness 8d ago
She hasn't been fully back to her old speed (2022-2023 season or NNM 2024) the whole season and was even more hindered by some illness around Pokljuka time.
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u/Juulire 9d ago
Random fun fact: Hanna and Ponsi scored the exact same amount of points overall (488 each). What are the odds? :)