Read the entire article here:
http://zport.se/skidsport/skidskytte/1.2269454-journalist-nedbrottad-pa-vm-stadion (in swedish) 

In every context that in some way involves weapons, there are rules and safety regulations. In contexts where weapons and sport are combined as a competitive challenge, there are even more safety aspects to consider. Stress, exhaustion and sometimes also emotions are examples of factors that must be considered. It is important to point out that it is very rare that a weapon fires itself. Accidents and incidents have happened, sometimes with tragic results, but it these cases it has been the human factor that has caused the incident.

Safety always comes first in biathlon. In order to avoid unfortunate events, at races there is always a safety zone after the finish in which a few officials, who are specially trained, may be present. One of their tasks is to ensure that there are no unauthorised people in this area. This is also where equipment checks take place after the race, as well as a special inspection of the athletes’ weapons to ensure that no ammunition is left in the magazine or in the barrel.

Interest in biathlon has grown more than could have expected, even in our wildest dreams. Before last weekend’s IBU CUP we wanted to give the media the opportunity to get closer to the athletes than at a world cup race, which was why we eased up on the accreditation zones and allowed media guests to move freely in the inner area among the athletes to talk. This meant that we had no specific mixed zone, which in an exception we can never allow during a world cup.

According to the rule book, the only places in which we cannot allow anyone other than competitors and specially trained officials and jury members are the race area/safety zones. It is here that there was a violation by one reporter, who we still consider to be one of the sharpest and most credible sports reporters in the county.

When the reporter was asked to leave the safety zone, he did so after repeated requests. Later on the same day, the same reporter is once again found in this area, i.e. on the wrong side of the fence, and is once again asked to leave the safety zone. When he does not do so, another official intervenes and physically removes him.

It seems as if there has been a misunderstanding about what is a mixed zone and what is a safety zone. We can be self-critical here and we, as an organisation, must review our routines and see how we can be clearer with our instructions. However, the IBU’s safety regulations are very clear and we wish to work in an environment in which there are no accidents.

Finally, I would like to say on behalf of the Swedish Biathlon Federation and the organiser, Biathlon Events, believe that we have an excellent relationship with ÖstersundsTidningar and its sports agency, Zport. As regional media, they are one of our most important partners as a communications channel that allows us to broadcast our message.

We also believe that ÖstersundsTidningar should write about things that are good and those that are not good, and that they should continue to critically examine our activities. On the condition that visitors respect the directions that they are given by our officials and follow the instructions on the signs, they will always be welcome.

The above-mentioned article is not one of our most favourable moments, but we can say that there will never be any doubt that there is nothing more important than the safety procedures surrounding training and racing because we are handling weapons. This also covers our concern for our guests from the media.

Naturally, it is unfortunate that a reporter’s folder ended up on the ground, especially if any notes were lost. However, as in biathlon we want to prevent accidents, it will always be better that possessions are dropped rather than a shot is accidentally fired due to the presence of unauthorised people in the safety zones, and is preferable to a friend from the local press being permanently grounded and unable to continue his reporting.

Best regards,
Gun Fahlander
Chair of the Organising committee, Östersund
 

Winning Bettan, second-placed Ekholm, and Anna Carin. Photo Kjell Bollnert

A missed shot in the last standing bout dropped Ekholm to second place today. Photo Kjell Bollnert

On the last day of the IBU International Rollerski Biathlon Cup in Östersund it was time for the pursuit. Helena Ekholm, who had previously been unbeaten over the weekend – without a rifle on Friday and in yesterday’s sprint – went out four seconds ahead of Elisabeth Högberg. Anna Carin Zidek, starting as number three, went out 55 seconds after Högberg. The battle for the podium was to be between these three.

During the race, ACO remained in third, but the leading position swapped between Elisabeth Högberg and Helena Ekholm.

There was a battle of nerves at the last shooting bout. Elisabeth Högberg has been displaying good skiing, but she probably knew that she would have to shoot clean o have any chance of shaking off Ekholm, whilst also certainly wishing that her rival would miss one.
This was what happened and the lead Höberg took before the final lap was enough for her to be ahead of Ekholm over the finish line. Helena should still be pleased with this weekend’s racing, where the 1-1-2 placing series is absolutely an acceptable result.

Anna Carin Zidek finished, as on previous days, in bronze position.

 

Lindström took all five faster than Ferry in the final bout, but it was the opposite situation on the tracks. Photo Kjell Bollnert

Speed compensated for missed shots
In the men’s race, it remained to be seen whether Fredrik Lindström would be cool under pressure when being chased today. Right behind him at the start of the pursuit was Olympic champion Björn Ferry. The 46-seconds distance to Lindström didn’t seem to be a problem, quite the opposite! Ferry skied around 30 seconds faster than Lindström per lap throughout the day and was equal shooting in the first standing bout. Then the nerves hit and Ferry missed a massive four shots while Lindström only missed one. Many people thought that Lindström would repeat yesterday’s win and he went out on the penultimate lap with a considerable lead, but one that the Storuman Express once again ate up. They both arrived on the range with Lindström in a five-metre lead. The air vibrated. But after finding the right breathing rhythm, Lindström aimed his rifle and took all five targets in no time at all.
The Olympic champion in pursuit took in easier, knowing that there’s nothing wrong with his skiing. These were well invested seconds, as Ferry shot clean too, and headed onto the final lap 15 seconds behind Lindström. Magnus Jonsson had caught up behind them, after a modest start, and was only 15 seconds behind Ferry. Sunday was yet another day when Björn Ferry showed how well he has responded to pre-season training. When they once again appeared before the finish line, Ferry was first by a hundred metres or so meter and was able to cross the line as winner in sole majesty. Lindström held off Magnus Jonsson, who finished third.

Juniors fast too
The junior class was once again dominated by Ingela Andersson who was by far the fastest in the women’s class. Henrik Forsberg won the men’s in similarly superior style.

Results are available at www.biathlonevents.se under Competitors and IBU CUP + XC.
 

Another four-second win for Helena Ekholm. Photo Kjell Bollnert

Helena Ekholm continues to show that the doesn’t want to let her team mates past her when racing. At today’s biathlon sprint at the IBU CUP she took another victory, but it was as slim as yesterday. Only four seconds separated her from today’s number two, Elisabeth Högberg, who, unlike Helena, shot clean on the range. Ekholm noted one miss in the first prone bout but could otherwise state that spring training has had a good effect on her. Continues to have stable form, and especially fast skiing.

Another fast skier is Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek. However she had a few problems shooting today (2+1) whith the resulting three rounds of the penalty loop. She was almost a minute behind Ekholm at the finish. Yesterday’s second place, Anna Karin Strömstedt, took it easier. She shot clean in the first prone bout, but in the second standing only two targets fell in what was otherwise a god effort.

ACO displays improving form. Annother third place. Photo Kjell Bollnert

Majestätiskt kört av Fredrik Lindström vid första dagen av IBU CUP. Foto Kjell Bollnert

Impressive Lindström
Majestic racing from Fredrik Lindström on the first day of the IBU CUP. Photo Kjell Bollnert
Midnight saw the start of the bear hunting season in Sweden, and someone who’s already out there is Fredrik Lindström. Early on, he had his sights on catching Björn (Ferry – who’s name is Swedish for bear) and it was an exciting challenge.

Before the final bout, Lindström with his lower start number, comes in minutes before Ferry, but with a four-second lead before the shooting. Lindström shoots clean (total 1+0) and hurries out on the final lap. This takes place as Ferry is preparing for his standing bout, and who probably guesses that Lindström has shot clean due to the cheers. The normally solid Ferry misses a shot and after the penalty loop he is ten or so seconds behind Lindström. Lindström uses this advantage well and increases in on the final lap. Across the line, Ferry is 46 seconds behind Lindström who is thus able to claim his first trophy for the season.
Today’s third is Magnus Jonsson (1+1) who is 1 minute and 18 seconds behind Lindström.

Results are available at www.biathlonevents.se under Competitors and IBU CUP + XC.
 

A sniper smile. Perfect shooting gave today’s second place to Elisabeth Högberg. Photo Kjell Bollnert

At the first races of this year’s IBU International Rollerski Biathlon Cup no:1, you can say two things about the junior classes:
1) Sweden has many promising young women.
2) Norway’s renewal on the men’s side seems assured.

If we start by looking at the junior women’s class, which competed in sprint in the morning, we can find good skiers and good shots - which can be regarded in two ways. Either it’s a shame that the super combination isn’t found in one and the same skier, or the athletes "only" have one thing to train.
Today’s winner, Ingela Andersson, SWE, was far and away the fastest of the leaders. Despite two misses (1+1) she was still 1.12 ahead of the day’s second place, Mona Brorsson, SWE, who was one of two who shot clean.
16-year-old Lotten Sjödin, (SWE), who finished in third place today, also showed that she had rockets under her skis. Despite three misses (1+2) she should be satisfied with her bronze.

The other athlete who shot clean today was Malin Jonsson, who finished fourth. Should we believe that she has shooting in her blood? Her big sisters are Jenny Jonsson and Helena Ekholm.

Norwegian dominance
It’s a riddle how the Norwegian nurseries get so much fuel into their athletes, but they put on a real show when the Norwegian three amigos raced yesterday. Fast skiing and good shooting is usually a good mix and that’s advice that Martin Muan, Marius Kjerneth and Vegar Bergli must have heeded.

All three started late in the field and were chasing the day’s best Swede, Henrik Forsberg. Forsberg, who had started 20 positions ahead, was leading at the finish despite missing four shots (2+2). He also skied extremely well. It was just that the Norwegians shot better. In the end, Forsberg had 42 seconds up to third, which was claimed by Vegar Bergli (0+2).

The battle for first place before the final lap was between Martin Muan and Marius Kjerneth. Despite Kjerneth only missing one shot today (0+1), he couldn’t hold off his compatriot Martin Muan, and had to admit defeat by six seconds. Muan visited the penalty loop twice after the standing bout, but had superior speed under his rollerskis and was able to take victory in the junior men’s sprint.

Results are available at www.biathlonevents.se  under Competitors and IBU CUP + XC.
 

 
This weekend’s rollerski races have started. A prologue was held on Friday afternoon in the form of a rollerski sprint race.

The Swedish biathlon squad presented a new face to the spectators in Östersund in the women’s seniors, Anna-Karin Strömstedt. She was leading after half the race and was shadowed by Britta Johansson Norgren, who started 30 seconds behind her, and they both looked as if they would be finishing in first and second respectively.

Both athletes, who are cross-country skiers originally, fell back in the second half of the race, making way for Helena Ekholm and Anna-Carin Olofsson-Zidek who started reeling in the seconds. With one lap left, Helena Ekholm was two seconds ahead of Anna-Karin Strömstedt; ACO was level with Britta Norgren Johansson, but gave it even more on the final lap and was rewarded with third place, as she could do nothing about the leading duo. There were 28 seconds up to second place before the final 2.6 kilometres.

The duel was won by Ekholm, who further extended her lead and finally won by four seconds ahead, of today’s astounding newcomer, Anna-Karin Strömstedt.

One man show
The men’s class was all about one man – Björn Ferry. The champion from the Vancouver Olympics outclasses his opponents today. He was one minute and three seconds ahead across the finish line, before today’s second place, Pontus Olsson. Olsson was fighting Ted Armgren for silver on the last lap, but the latter fell back and ended up fifth today.
A good final lap meant that home athlete Mattias Nilsson moved up after a slow start, finishing third. The fourth place in today’s prologue went to Fredrik Lindström, just three seconds behind Nilsson.

Peppe Femling beat Oscar Qvicklund to win the men’s junior class, and Lisa Dahl won the women’s junior class in convincing fashion. Rebecka Forsberg was second.

Results are available under the heading Competitors, then click on Results IBU CUP + XC


 

More to come...
Races will be held on the same tracks tomorrow, but with shooting as well. The primary focus will be on the silver medalist from today senior women’s class and the newcomer to the Swedish biathlon squad, Anna-Karin Strömstedt – as this is when it all gets serious.

The first start in the junior classes is at 11.00, and the first start in the women’s senior class is at 14.00.
 

Helena Ekholm’s fighting face! We can see it again this weekend at the IBU CUP. Photo: Kjell Bollnert

The air is clear and warm and the August sunshine raises the temperature to 25 degrees in the middle of the day. In three days’ time in Östersund we’ll see the start of the IBU sanctioned rollerski cups. It is the first of three, with there are about 100 days to go until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund. It’s now that the battle for places in the team begins, with things getting serious from here on.

The summer races that started in Östersund a few years ago, were originally intended to be internal race training for the Swedish biathlon squad, but now they’ve become something of a classic. Two years ago they were upgraded, making Östersund one of the three destinations that hosts the IBU International Rollerski Biathlon Cup. This year the others are Nove Mesto in the Czech republic and the final will be held in Predeal-Risnov in Romania. Östersund has plans to further adapt the concept and to move parts of the competition to the city centre.

The Swedes are already on site.
Sweden has the entire team in place so will be there with their best, with one exception. It’s uncertain whether newly-wed Carl Johan Bergman will take part as he fell foul of another cold at the weekend and will probably be spending a few days at home to recover.

Otherwise, this is a golden opportunity to whet your appetite and see the Swedish stars one more time this season. It will be particularly interesting to see how the latest Olympic champion in biathlon, Björn Ferry, has carried out his pre-season training.

The number of participants is now over 110, which is around ten more than last year. We’ll see some interesting starters, particularly in the junior classes, as Finland is bringing its men’s and women’s development squads. The women’s seniors will see the greatest challenge coming from Norway, as Solveig Rogstad has an interesting autumn ahead of her. She has the major challenge of regaining a place in the Norwegian A-squad. This past winter she competed for Norway at the Vancouver Olympics, but lost her place in the A-squad shortly after. You don’t need to be genius to realise that she has really put her all into pre-season training, now that it would be a real feather in her cap if she can put the Swedish women, headed by ACO and the "new" star Helen Ekholm (nee Jonsson), in their place.

Tough races without rifles too
The skiing weekend in Östersund also offers a few challenges without rifles as there will be rollerski races on Friday. Last year’s team member and reigning Vasaloppet champion Jörgen Brink will start in Friday’s rollerski race. Brink, who last year moved into long-distance skiing, will be challenging his former team mates in Friday’s sprint.

On the women’s side, we note that Britta Norgren Johansson has entered. As recently as the 2008/09 season, Britta was one of the mainstays of the Swedish cross-country team.

Read more about this weekend’s races and the build up to the World Cup in Östersund on www.biathlonevents.se
 

Some very successful matchmaking was carried out at the Biathlon World Cup last year. Businesspeople are now invited to a new Company Matchmaking event to give their companies the opportunity to make new business contacts. Thos who took part last year now the value of the contacts that were created.

- The whole day was well organised, and it’s even better when it’s linked to an event like world-class biathlon, says Mattias Lindberg from Holiday Club in Åre. Others who took part last year agree.

- I had to prior expectations about what it would be or become, and afterwards I have seen that several of the contacts we made can either be interesting leads to new people and companies or even, hopefully, new jobs, says Micke Berlin from the Vision2 advertising agency.

How it works
Professional surroundings are created in the lounge at the biathlon stadium, for professional, effective meetings in which, with the biathlon event as the common demoninator, you can meet new customers, suppliers or partners.
Ahead of the matchmaking, participants get to find out about each other’s information and interests. Then they choose the participants they would prefer to meet.
Based on these requests, an optimal meeting timetable is organised for each participant and up to eight 25-minute meetings are carried out during the day. A positive, professional atmosphere means that the day is full of potential.

If you are interested in the Matchmaking on 1 December please call +46 63 13 2008 for more information.

A warm welcome from

   
 

Biathlon World Cup Premiere. 1-5 December 2010, Östersund

Looking good for the television audience: Chief of Competition Sten Wadensjö, OC Chairperson Gun Fahlander and the Swedish Biathlon Federation’s Secretary-General, Ingemar Arwidson.


This Midsummer, the IBU is holding its annual organisers’ conference in Salzburg, Austria, at which biathlon organisers from around the world meet to swap knowledge and experience.
On the morning of Midsummer Eve, the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) presented a compilation of the television audiences from the previous season and Ingolfur Hanesson, Manager for Winter Sports, was once again able to state that biathlon is the fastest growing television sport.

Östersund, which has recently become the permanent host of the World Cup Premiere, is no exeption when it comes to the growing television interest. Quite the opposite! Östersund is biting at the heels of the big boys and can soon be compared – in television terms – with races like Ruhpolding and Antholz-Anterselva.
The figures from the previous season show that almost 101 million viewers around the world watched the races from Östersund on television, if you add up live broadcasts, other broadcasts, news and sports round-ups programmes.

- Wonderful reading for us of course, egoistically, but I also think that it demonstrates that it was the right decision to name Östersund the annual host of the premiere. When it comes down to it, we are gathered here in Salzburg to develop the sport of biathlon and this is a very strong element in the shared ambitions that we are part of contributing to in Östersund. A premiere with a big bang is something that everybody benefits from, says the OC chairperson in Östersund, Gun Fahlander, when she reads the EBU’s figures.

Wanted: Bigger TV sofas in Sweden!
Whilst the number of people on the stands in Östersund was the same as for 2009’s premiere, the number of Swedes who are taking a seat on the sofa is increasing.
From around 1.2 million television viewers in Sweden over the week of the World Cup Premiere in 2006, numbers have increased almost five-fold over the last four seasons. In 2009, 5,655,000 Swedish TV viewers chose to sit and watch biathlon.

- The figures are amazing. Over all the years I have been involved in biathlon, which is pretty much my entire adult life, I have never seen such high figures for a Swedish world cup competition, says Ingemar Arwidson, Secrretary-General of the Swedish Biathlon Federation.
 

The premiere in the e.on Rhurgas IBU World Cup is in Östersund 1-5 December.



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