Samuelsson approaches the point from a new angle: What does it mean?

Last year’s numbers spoke volumes.

Sebastian Samuelsson needed to do something to improve his low standing shooting percentage (78%).

If the individual races Now the Olympic biathlon is starting in Italy, albeit after a weak performance in the World Cup and a total shooting collapse at the premiere of the mixed relay.

In the distance race on Tuesday, the Swedish biathlon star has to prove that last Sunday’s nightmare series was not based on self-confidence. At the same time, the stats don’t lie when you look at the entire season.

“Standing shooting has gotten better,” Samuelsson told DN before the Olympics.

– I am absolutely convinced that this is a contributing factor.

“The” is the way as a soon-to-be 29-year-old Swede competing in his third Olympic Games, enters the point To.

It is an expression that is often heard in interviews in the biathlon arenas.

Biathlon is the sport where small details can make the difference between a medal and failure: how you set up the rifle after shooting, how badly you mess up the sights, your speed on the mat.

The most important thing, of course, is to hit the right target – despite shaking legs, nervous nerves and strong winds.

The target is the black one the point on the shooting board 50 meters away.

When shooting standing, the striking surface consists of the entire point with a diameter of 11.5 centimeters. When shooting while lying down, only the middle part with a diameter of 4.5 centimeters.

The biathlete should preferably “go to the point”, i.e. always approach the perfect position in the sights from the same direction.

“When you start aiming, you can be very far from the point,” explains Sebastian Samuelsson.

– It’s about finding the point somehow.

Breathing is controlled when shooting prone On the carpet, most biathletes enter the point from below.

When shooting standing, however, you can take on the challenge from different angles.

– You never manage to stay completely still while standing. So you have to shoot in one movement. Then I want this movement to be as small as possible. That’s why I want it to have a rhythm. If you enter from the same direction all the time, it becomes a habit, says Samuelsson.

He has always done that in the past came from above while standing. During the pre-season he changed his technique and thinking and now decided to switch from right to left.

– You may think it sounds strange, but it makes a big difference whether you move your body to the left or to the right. As a rule, you decide on a direction: “I’m going in this direction.” And there are certainly advantages and disadvantages to the different options.

As he has done over the years If he entered the point from above, there was a risk that he would get “stuck”, that he would not dare to touch the barrel as often as necessary and then miss big.

– Or on the contrary, the movement becomes too fast and you miss too deeply. So it’s about finding out which movement is easiest to control.

He continues:

– Then you have to think about the wind. If it is blowing sideways, it may be easier to follow or run against the wind. Instead of trying to climb from above and constantly letting the wind knock you in the side.

– Then I try to sleep a little more and have a better rhythm. When I shot while standing, I often stood and aimed a lot, as if every shot was a first shot. Now I’m trying to use the rhythm a little more.

The change has increased His standing shooting percentage increased from 78 percent last winter to 84 in January, and it is now 81 percent at the Olympics.

Meanwhile, the 13-time championship medalist doesn’t take long to admit that sometimes it can just be a feeling of change something which pays off, a kind of placebo effect.

– Yes, but it’s clear. But after the standing shoot I had last season, I wanted to feel like I was trying to do something about it. If I had been very good, I wouldn’t have changed it.

Sweden’s head coach John Luke agrees. At the same time, it is dangerous to make too many changes before an Olympic year, he says:

– I see it as security that you have a concept that works. Then you can make small changes, but there can’t be too many details that are constantly changing. It can lead to insecurity.

Samuelsson’s change is actually quite small, he says himself.

But entering the point from the side also involves risks, says Johannes Lukas in general:

– For example, if you enter a point from the right, you must keep in mind that if you do it incorrectly, you run the risk of “going through” the point.

– So it’s a little different how active people do it, including how they breathe in and out. But in general, it’s important to stop dead in your tracks, really pay attention, aim correctly, and then shoot well.

The female star Hanna Öberg His breakthrough came at the same Olympic Games as Sebastian Samuelsson (2018).

She is one of those biathletes who actually doesn’t have a fixed principle. While standing, she can enter the point from different directions.

– For me it’s probably not that important. “I would like it to bang more when I’m on the way to the point,” says Öberg.

– Sometimes I want to hold still and press the button when I’m in the middle of something, but often that’s not possible. Maybe it’s a little windy, you’re stressed, you have more exercise. It is important to be able to shoot with a lot of movement when you are on the way to the target. Because if you shoot at the point and have too much movement, it’s too late. Then you had time to get out of there before you pressed the button.