Einar Hedegart faced a real challenge during the Blink Festival. He harshly criticizes his own performance, stating that he is far from the shooting form he had hoped for. Nevertheless, he continues to pursue biathlon.

Last season’s cross-country skiing star took on a demanding schedule at the Blink Festival. The start was perfect with a victory in Lysebotn Opp, but problems arose when the rifle was slung over his back. The Olympic champion has trained extensively in shooting over the summer. However, once the race number was on, he found himself making multiple trips to the penalty loop.

“It’s much better than I’ve done before, and I felt really good out there. So it was a nice start to Blink. It’s a good indication that the physical training has been effective, and yes, a very solid path to the season start,” he told t-a.no after his win in Lysebotn Opp.

Also Read: Hedegart wins Lysebotn Opp freestyle 2026

However, the downturn followed quickly.

“It has been a huge, huge disappointment,” Hedegart said in the moment of frustration.

“In terms of shooting, I was miles away from what I expected. I know the standards are high here, and it’s much harder to shoot at Blink than during regular training and biathlon in the winter. But I never thought it would go this poorly.”

Despite feeling good in training, the setback at Blink does not warrant any changes to Einar Hedegart’s current plan.

“We actually said we were ahead of schedule before Blink. The graph has been slowly but surely trending upward, and then comes a little correction. A good market goes up and up, and sometimes it needs to be corrected. That’s what happened, so it will fuel the fire,” Hedegart said after the super sprint in Sandnes.

The Norwegian has some reflections to make, but he doesn’t believe it will significantly impact the upcoming season.

“You realize that you’re a bit further away than what the hit percentage suggested, but no one is giving up after Blink, in a way. It’s not season-defining.”

“It’s a very black-and-white answer, and I feel that too. I call a spade a spade and say that this was far from what I expected. So I’m concerned, but not worried.”

Biathlon remains the focus

We can therefore put to rest the debate about whether Einar Hedegart is a cross-country skier or a biathlete once again. No major changes are expected despite the penalty loops in Sandnes.

“No, what I’ve done so far has actually worked well in training, and I’m not scrapping that plan, so we have a very good month ahead with plenty of solid matches and training to come. I’m still in development, and I’ll definitely feel that. Someone who is developing can’t expect everything to just go forward. Now I’ve taken two steps forward, and then one back, but that’s part of the game,” he told t-a.no.

The Olympic champion hinted in Sandnes that he might appear at the cross-country season opener in Beitostølen, but according to Langrenn.com, that is far from certain.

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