Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Ida Lien both struggled a lot on their stand in Nove Mesto in the WC in February. On the first March day of the year in Holmenkollen, both delivered some of the best races of their careers and came first and third in the normal distance.
– What do you think we talked about in the booth? The only way we could beat them was to take one, two and three. So ladies: We are good under pressure, even though I missed the last shot, says Tarjei Bø with a grin after the men’s race.
He himself came second in the men’s 20 kilometres, only beaten by Sturla Holm Lægreid and with Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen in the place behind.
The Norwegian national team athletes agree that the women’s race was both motivating and inspiring.
– I was inspired and thought I should be just as good at it today, when they did that turnaround. I can also thank them for the victory, says Lægreid.
– We are very impressed by the turnaround. It’s very cool to see. It is terrible to be in such a valley of waves as they were in during the World Cup. Then you are judged up and down by everyone, and then they hit back when people don’t expect it, at home, says Bø.
– I was very impressed, because what they showed in the World Cup was not as good as we had hoped. That they fight back like that and deliver so well, it’s a good comeback. It is pleasing on their behalf that they are back already, says Thingnes Bø.
– What are you going to say to Tandrevold back at the hotel?
– “Why didn’t you do that in the WC?”, I will say. It was really good, says Thingnes Bø, chuckling.
IN TEARS: 3rd place meant a lot to Ida Lien. Here she wipes away tears of joy together with her mother and father.
Photo: NRK
Lien: – Absolutely incredible to think about
26-year-old Lien struggled with a “mysterious” back injury before the start of the season and was left out of the team. Not until the last race before the WC, in Anterselva, was she back in the heat. The championship in Nove Mesto was a nightmare for the 26-year-old, but in Kollen she hit back with her first career podium.
– It is absolutely incredible to think about. If someone had told me that I would get the first podium of my life in the same season that I had the worst season opening of my life, I don’t know if I would have believed it, says Ida Lien to NRK.
She knocked down 19 out of 20 flashes and went on to the first podium of her career. Only Swedish Elvira Öberg and the winner Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold were better on Friday’s normal distance.
HUGE PERFORMANCE: Ida Lien and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold had a dream day on home snow in Holmenkollen.
Photo: BILDBYRÅN
Tears of joy
Lien made such a good run that she could hardly believe it. When asked what she thought after the fourth shooting, she says:
– “What happened now?”. I’m not used to shooting 19 hits, so it was a lot of fun.
NRK’s biathlon expert Ola Lunde was thrilled by Lien’s performance.
– It is simply impressive. The first time she is on the podium, it has obviously been a goal. She has had back problems in the past, had a very difficult autumn with training, illness, covid and back, but then she managed to put together this race in Kollen. It means a lot, he says.
On 1 October last year, Lien was told to take away everything that was straining her back. As a result, there was little skiing and a lot of cycling. Lien says she thought she didn’t have time for it, but now her back is as good as new.
– I don’t know anything about that, she says.
After the race, she wiped away some tears of joy and received a good hug from both mother and father.
SMILE AND CONGRATULATIONS: Ida Lien with her parents after 3rd place.
Photo: NRK
For Lien, the road to this 3rd place has been long.
– I just had to train and see if it got better. Simply. It went better and better, and after Christmas it has only gone one way. It is very nice to get a podium place on home ground today, says Lien, and emphasizes.
– It’s so delicious, and it’s a lot of fun to do it together with Ingrid too.
It wasn’t just Lien who fought back, Tandrevold did too.
ON THE PODIUM: Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold cheers at the top of the podium. On the left stands Swedish Elvira Öberg. In the bronze place we see Karoline Knotten.
Photo: BILDBYRÅN
Demonstration of power
– I think this biathlon is tiring. That it should go up and down so much. Now I wanted to really just give up and give up now, says Tandrevold after the victory.
The contrasts could hardly be greater.
After an almost disastrous WC, where her best individual result was a 10th place, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold hit back hard on home snow in Holmenkollen on Friday.
19 hits and excellent skiing resulted in a superb victory, 28 seconds ahead of Swedish Elvira Öberg.
– I have never had a good ski race in Holmenkollen before, says Tandrevold.
Now one can safely say that that barrier has been broken.
– This was very nice for Ingrid, said a cheerful mother Bente Landmark to NRK.
Standing ascent
This was the women’s first biathlon race after the WC in Nove Mesto, a championship which was a huge setback for Tandrevold.
She collected a bronze medal in the pairs relay with Johannes Thingnes Bø, and there was also a silver medal in the mixed relay. In the individual races, however, most things went wrong.
25th place in the sprint, 34th place in the pursuit start and number 27 in the normal. 10th place in the women’s joint start was her best result. Tandrevold struggled especially in the standing shooting.
Photo: BILDBYRÅN
Her hitting percentage in the WC was 58 per cent, including extra shots.
On Friday in Holmenkollen, the hit rate for standing shooting was 90 per cent
– It must be a crazy feeling to achieve this after large parts of the WC were pitch black. She has delivered one of her very, very best races here, concludes Post.
– This was a rare revenge. It is a revenge we have hardly seen, emphasizes Post.