Marit Eschul-Skogan was first in the prone shooting in Wednesday's relay race in Rueholding, but she got really shaky on the podium.
The Norwegian girl incurred two rounds of penalty kicks, and thus the Norwegian team ended up at the bottom of the scoreboard towards the first change.
– This is a crisis for Norway, which has been the best tracking country so far, said NRK commentator Jan Post.
With tears on NRK
Eshul Skogan herself was devastated, crying and sad when she spoke to NRK after the race.
– This is probably the worst feeling I've ever felt. “Now I've ruined it for everyone,” she said.
– Absolutely awful. I completely froze. Only then does it become a hundred times more difficult because you are trying so hard. When they freeze, those flashes seem impossible to get rid of, because they're so small, she said of the second shooting.
Norway was about 1 minute and 20 seconds behind leaders Ukraine on the shot, and even further behind the lead on the switch. Thus Caroline Naughton got a very difficult starting position with 16th place at the switch and 1.36 minutes behind Sweden in the lead.
Before Wednesday's competitions, the Norwegian team achieved two victories and placed second in the relay race this season.
Knotten did his part and was able to get through both shootings with the help of an extra shot. In the prone position, she shot five out of five, but still couldn't do much with the distance to her best. At the switch, Norway was 1.46 minutes behind.
Lost even further
Italy took the lead during the second stage, with Lisa Vettuzzi delivering a strong stage.
– NRK commentator Torgeir Björn said it would take a miracle for Norway to be on the podium now.
Juni Arnekleiv also had a hard time and lost time on the track in the third stage. Based on standing shooting, the distance to the top, now with Germany and Franziska Preus in front, was more than two minutes. The hope of “return” seemed almost impossible.
When Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold exited the final stage, the distance to Germany became a whopping 2.54 minutes.
Not even Norway's biggest star was able to enter the team in the battle for a place on the podium. In the end, Norway had to settle for 12th place, a full three minutes and 12 seconds behind the winning team.
It was France that ultimately won the relay race, while Sweden came in second place and Germany in third place.
It was the last relay before this winter's World Championships in the Czech Republic Nove Mesto, yesterday from the stack from February 7 to February 18.
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