Säsongen became not as Martin Ponsiluoma had thought it would. Now the biathlete tells about an earlier unknown incident that affected his shooting.
Martin Ponsiluoma failed to follow up on the 2022-2023 season's success season when he won the World Cup and took an individual World Championship silver. Individually, it was as good as three fourth places.
The shooting was, perhaps due to the rifle, worse than the previous year. But Ponsiluoma chose not to report the malfunction during the competition season.
The rifle being damaged just days before the World Cup premiere meant it couldn't be replaced. Instead, it had to be repaired.
About a week ago, he and the national team's coach Jean-Marc Chabloz went to Grenoble in France to test a new stock.
Last autumn, the 28-year-old had problems with the lower part of the stock and an inflammation that made him withdraw from Sweden's premiere, in order to be ready for the World Cup premiere in Östersund.
The problems came from the iliac crest and he couldn't run. Cross-country skiing went well, so even though he sometimes felt the iliac crest, he did his best season in the ski track.
In early April, he was operated on and a mesh was inserted into the iliac crest.
In anticipation of being able to train physically in full again, there will be a lot of focus on shooting, which has been Ponsiluoma's weakest link. Now he also needs to shoot in his new rifle.
Next week, the national team will go to a training camp in Lavazé, Italy, and Ponsiluoma will be following.
Born: September 8, 1995, in Östersund.
Lives: Östersund, partner of Hanna Öberg.
Club: Tullus.
Main achievements: OS silver in mass start 2022. Gold in sprint, silver in relay and bronze in mixed relay in VM 2021. Silver in mass start, bronze in relay in VM 2023. Gold in relay and bronze in mixed relay in VM 2024. Two World Cup wins.
