The whole world watched the Tandrevold drama in Beijing. But from her removal from the Games, the Russian team won already twice.
The suffering of one of the best biathletes Norway before and following the finish in the sprint and pursuit are sure to be among the main dramas of the Beijing Olympics. It got to the point that the leadership of the Norwegian national team might only make the only possible decision and send the athlete home.
In Pekin Tandrevold not only did not win medals, but also undermined her health.
The right decision of the Norwegians and Kazakevich’s chance
Ingrid Tandrevold, second in the overall ranking of the World Cup biathlete from Norway, came to Beijing to fight for medals and win the relay together with the leader of the season, Marte Olsby Røiseland. And if you look at her results, in each race the girl was close to the podium: eighth place in the individual race, fifth in the sprint and the fight for bronze in the pursuit.
But in proportion to her achievements, she literally killed her health. As a result, Ingrid goes home instead of fighting for gold. Definitely, this is not only a tragedy for Ingrid, but for the entire Norwegian team.
“Of course, I’m very upset. I will not participate in the relay and mass start and will go to Norway at the first opportunity. My heart is broken,” Ingrid commented on the decision of the medical headquarters following the pursuit.
It is important to note that the Norwegian headquarters held out to the last. They didn’t send Tandrevold home following the sprint, although she felt uncomfortable there already. However, the critical condition of the athlete following the pursuit left no choice. Looking at how another Scandinavian, Swedish Frida Karlsson, suffers in cross-country skiing, it was worth thinking regarding the end of Tandrevold’s suffering in Beijing earlier. But what happened happened.
The Russian team received an unexpected bonus from the decision of the Norwegians. Irina Kazakevichwho placed 20th and 23rd in the sprint and pursuit, respectively, got a chance to compete in the mass start as the first substitute.
True, the results of our biathlete in this type of program during the season are rather depressing – 29th in Annecy and 20th in Antholz. But, as we understand, anything can happen in one race. Therefore, the third member of the team added to Reztsova and Nigmatullina at least mathematically increases our chances of success.
Will the Russians be easier in the relay?
But the main result of the departure of the Norwegian is a strong weakening of the Scandinavian relay four. Ingrid is a solid team fighter, having run three of the four races this season, including the win at Antholz.
Moreover, at the Olympics, she also started in all individual races with Eckhoff and Røiseland. That is, before the relay, these three girls were the iron backbone of the team. And if the risk associated with the participation of Ida Lien (38th and 33rd in the sprint-pursuit pair) might be offset by a powerful performance from an experienced and strong trio of leaders, now the Norwegians will have to worry regarding Caroline Knotten as well. It is she who will run the stage instead of Ingrid.
And now attention! The biathlete who will replace Tandrevold has not yet run a single race at the Beijing Olympics. Just imagine what will happen to her at a distance and how big a risk it is for the team. Suffice it to recall how the Beijing 2022 debutant Emile Iversen showed himself in the men’s ski relay, who, in fact, lost the race to our team in his first stage.
Of course, biathlon has more chances to improve the situation than cross-country skiing, but it is foolish to deny that without Tandrevold, Norway’s chances of winning the relay have declined. And, of course, this is a chance for ours. Despite all the criticism and failures in Beijing, the team proved more than once during the season that they might get together for the relay showdown. It is no coincidence that we have three podiums in four races. The Norwegians, by the way, have only one winner, while the rest have fourth and two seventh places.
Obviously, the Norwegian girls will now have a hard time. And Ingrid Tandrevold, who scared spectators around the world with her collapse, will watch this race from home, because she had to be urgently expelled from the Olympics for health reasons.
