Biathlon icon: That’s why they’ll be back soon
Frida Carlson and Maja Dalqvist make a mistake leaving the national team.
Björn Ferry is convinced.
– They’ll be back sooner or later. He was saying it was better.
After two stormy days, the debate seemed to have stalled.
Three of Sweden’s top winter athletes have left the national team and the media debated whether the federation or active members should be more compliant. If the driver agreement is too bad, if the rules are too strict, if the leaders should be replaced.
But there are more concrete questions to answer. What’s up with Lynn Svan, Frieda Carlson And the Maja Dalqvist Not?
The renegade trio will train and plan camps themselves, but they are competing for Sweden in the World Cup and Championships just as before. It may seem like they’ve got their freedom, but that comes with big commitments.
Bjorn Ferry warns them.
– I think they underestimate what they have. They just know what Not Worked, but less aware of what Poetry a job. They’ll be aware of this when they’re out: Well, there was a lot to do on your own, says the former athlete.
“Life on the Border”
Isn’t sacrificing some time on the TV sofa enough to book two plane tickets?
– number. Living as an elite athlete is a life on the frontier. There is not much room to add things. Frieda Carlson is a good example of this. If I were her, I would create a life as frictionless and easy as possible. Instead, putting more responsibility on oneself is too risky.
There are clearly two metrics, as riders were balancing their autonomy against the service a union would provide. But Vieri doubts whether the players have enough insight into the amount of arrangements that have been made for them during their time in the national team.
– He says that there is so much I took for granted that he becomes more absorbed than he had anticipated.
In plain language: Do you think it is wrong?
– yes. This is shown by historical examples, such as Team Mekonomen. The Matthias Fredrickson project (the “national renegade team” formed in 2007, editor’s note) was a protest affair, but mostly had to book camp trips and that hell. Out of pride, he did it anyway. Or Charlotte Calla. She was half happy with her investment, but it wasn’t long before she was back. This would be a short term solution if they couldn’t build their own team, but the danger is that they will soon have to buy their own truck. Maybe they are not ready to do it even if they make good money.
The Olympic gold medalist turned 43 and hasn’t competed in nearly a decade. He is a forester and TV expert. One might wonder what a retired athlete already knows about a 22-year-old star in another sport.
But Ferri does not claim to know everything about the situation. However, during his long career, he experienced the importance of continuity and security. An elite investment is more than kilometers in the track, it is a round-the-clock business where you have to learn from the older and more successful.
They live like a hockey team.
Now ties are severed between three of the best cross-country skiers and the gang who want to be just as good.
My first year was Magdalena Forsberg’s last year. Her presence in the team was a huge advantage. Otherwise there would only be a group of half-giant men, so what would they teach me about life as an elite athlete? Therefore, it was important to have Charlotte Calla with last year, as a role model for young people. It is therefore important that Frida Karlsson, Maja Dalqvist and Lyn Svan are part of the national team. Bjorn Ferry says: For themselves and for others.
And without it?
– You need continuity. I marked my time on the biathlon team and it’s in demand now. A culture that lasts over time. But there is a constant turbulence and a very large turnover. They live as a hockey or soccer team.
Have you ever thought about liberation?
– number. There was talk when we replaced Wolfgang Pichler, but I immediately sensed how dependent you two were. Take the skates. How it works? Don’t take care of herself. I strongly advise not to think that you can improve yourself. Those who quit and started their own business soon realized that it was more than before, and that they couldn’t go home at four o’clock anymore. A businessman can solve it, but not an athlete. Because if you can add more things to your schedule, that means you’re training too little.
another thing.
Bjorn Ferry states that no one should be fooled that training conditions are everything. The long-distance sports exchange is poor and there are few skiers who ski together more than the absolute minimum investment is more. As a private skater, it is possible to arrange your own sponsors and raise your salary alarmingly – but connecting with and maintaining your partners can be tiring.
And if no company stepped in and supported it, it would be costly to travel and live near the snow-covered places.
“It’s permafrost”
Everything is complicated by the fact that the World Cup is poor while the long-distance trophy becomes more money hungry, so in a normal winter, relatively unknown skaters like Emil Persson and Lina Korsgren bring in more money than the idols we follow on TV than Roca and Lillehammer And Fallon.
Björn Ferry predicts that the situation is unsustainable. Thus, the escape of Frida and Maja from the national team can be considered a symptom of the disease.
The longitudinal gate structure is oscillating. It’s better to win a million financially in the long run than to get into a shadowy World Cup race. In the long run, the path is toward cycling, where you represent your team, appear in championships, and compete for your country, says Bjorn Ferry.
is it bad?
– yes. My sport made sure that the best way to do biathlon was the World Cup. You’ve seen the stakes and sued the schedule, so it wasn’t worth questioning or starting your own tour. In cross-country sports, everyone involved should feel that it is a good deal for them. I think it squeaks there.
Your opinion of the riders is clear. But the skating union then? Do they have to change drastically or are they on the right track?
They must achieve continuity. It takes a long time to build but can be demolished quickly. You must make sure that the national team is the best place to develop and be among the best in the world. If you can’t deliver this strategy, you have problems.
what are the problems?
Starting without the participation of stars should be a very delicate matter. What do the sponsors say? “Now we’ll meet the biggest profiles” and then people you don’t even know come after. I think they are more tense than they say on the surface.
one last thing. Both sides say there are no “hard feelings” between them. do you believe that?
– number. It appears to be permanently frozen. Another prestige battle.