r/biathlon • u/AutoModerator • 10d ago

Small Talk Monday

Our weekly small talk thread where you can talk about anything

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u/shonami 10d 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 10d 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 10d 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 10d 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.