Sweden won by just over 40 seconds over Olympic champion France, who won four women’s gold medals (one in the mixed relay) in Italy.
Hanna Öberg decided with flawless shooting and a fast ride. When she was eliminated on the third stage, she was there along with France and Norway.
When she switched to her little sister Elvira Öberg, she was just over 30 seconds ahead of second-placed France.
A day earlier, Hanna Öberg had broken away in the mass start, where she stood out with six hurdles.
– It was nice to take revenge yesterday to show that it was an isolated incident, says Hanna Öberg to SVT.
Elvira Öberg could Save in the final stretch – although things got a little shaky when she had to take two extra shots in the final shot.
She was able to grab a Swedish flag during the run and bowed to the crowd as she crossed the finish line.
Linn Gestblom drove the starting distance and Anna Magnusson the second. Sweden fired all the way and only needed four additional shots in total.
“Anna and Linn are doing fantastic stretches, but Hanna impressed today. What she’s doing on the wall today is rough, so it was just a matter of getting through it,” says Elvira Öberg, whose Swedish team took silver at the Olympics.
Sweden’s victory was the 11th World Cup relay of all time for women.
Sweden had a slim chance of winning the overall relay cup, but then France had to finish third at best.
At first it looked like there was a chance Norway could beat France, but Karoline Offigstad Knotten missed that chance in the third game. Norway came third, 1.06 seconds behind Sweden.
Elvira Öberg was still happy about the Swedish victory in the final round of the season.
– It’s difficult. “We knew in advance that we had very good chances, so it was nice that we were able to take advantage of them,” says Elvira Öberg.
The Swedish ladies had really great days in Kontiolax. Elvira Öberg won the distance race last Thursday ahead of Hanna Öberg and on Saturday Elvira came second in the mass start and Anna Magnusson third.
Competitions await next week (March 12-15) in Otepää, Estonia, before the World Cup from March 19-22. March ends at Holmenkollen.
