HOLMENKOLLEN: Bjoerndalen dominating again. Silver again. Emil Hegle Svendsen dominating sport boss almost as much with his bronze.
The coaches are puzzled: The riddle Emil Hegle Svendsen
Emil Hegle Svendsen showed that 24 hours is time galore to reverse the decline and black minds of joy and bronze medal.
After the sprint Saturday and 17th-place was on his way down to the basement again. Where he has been many times in the two years that have passed since Sochi Olympics.
– Saturday I feared that there might be something wrong, he said after the bronze race. There was relief in every move that it was precisely he who was now at the international press conference medalist.
From crack to away with him
In 24 hours, he had turned a miserable cross-form over to be up there among the best. Saturday he had a crack in the track so powerful that he rarely had previously experienced.
On the final round Sunday he crushed such a good skier as Johannes Thingnes Bø and referred him to the miserable fourth place. He went up 15 places over 12.5 kilometers. Finally, he had only two legends ahead. The winner Martin Fourcade and the biggest of them all, Ole Einar Bjørndalen. 42-year-old took his second silver medal in two days.
Have hardly seen major transformation
But much came to be about Emil Hegle Svendsen transformation from being a medium biathlete to become a medalist during one day.
– The happened is impressive, and it’s great fun to see Emil as he appeared today, says sports director Morten Aa Djupvik.
As former head of the Norwegian men’s national team in cross country, he knows all about how an endurance body works. It is not unusual that in the time before competitions goes to the cellar to get what they trainer language calls a “blowout.” It use to produce results within a few days.
Unexplained
Djupvik have rarely seen that some have returned to nearly their best form just 24 hours later.
Steinar Mundal is now physical trainer for the Norwegian biathlon girls, but 20 to 30 years as cross country coach has taught him something about how such blowouts works.
– We have seen it many times that it can help to drive the body completely empty, so to get an impression top just afterwards. But I have rarely seen that it worked so fast, says Mundal.
Emil Hegle Svendsen have no good explanation for the transformation.
– Why this happened I have no simple explanation, he said after the race.
Eckhoff inspired
Morten Aa Djupvik has an additional dimension which he believes helped to inspire the entire Norwegian team to renewed efforts yesterday. Norway occupied the next three spots after superb Martin Fourcade.
– I think the result to Tiril Eckhoff yesterday helped to lift the whole team. It managed the boys to enjoy along with the giant performance of Ole Einar. It was very good atmosphere in the dining hall yesterday, to put it that way, says Morten Aa Djupvik.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen continued overnight adding new chapters to the legend story about himself. Once again, he was best Norwegian. Once again only beaten by Martin Fourcade.
Bjoerndalen makes boss speechless
The sports director for biathlon is often a man of many words. But when he has to describe Ole Einar Bjorn Valley feat he becomes speechless.
– There are sjukt what he gets, says Djupvik and shakes his head.
The man who now has taken as many World Cup medals (42) as its age handles media with naturalness and objectivity. He got to experience medal ceremony Saturday night. And he admits that it was a great experience that is worth being part of.
He was close to gold too. Had he shot a flawless last shooting he would have been near Martin Fourcade on the last lap. Frenchman fired two misses, but Bjoerndalen did not get it with them.
Finally, he was 20 seconds behind Frenchman who quietly parading with the French flag in goal.
A season to?
For every outstanding achievement gets Bjoerndalen question whether he is now going to take a year or a few years.
He refuses to answer.
– Now it’s just about the World Cup. This World Cup, he uses to answer.
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