The world’s best prone shooter was unrecognizable at last weekend’s Norwegian season opener in Geilo. “I missed more this weekend than in the entire season last year,” says World Cup winner Sturla Holm Lægreid. But now he believes he has found the problem and is taking steps to fix it.

Five misses in prone were unusually costly for Lægreid last weekend.

Many were left puzzled, and NRK expert Ola Lunde quickly concluded: “It’s simply not good enough.”

Already during the zeroing, things looked chaotic for the usually rock-solid prone shooter.

“But now I think I know what has happened,” says last season’s overall World Cup winner after three terrible shooting series at the biathlon stadium in Geilo.

“My sight isn’t behaving quite normally. Then I remembered that I dropped the rifle on the asphalt a month ago. Maybe something happened then. That the screw has worn down something,” Lægreid says after Sunday’s mass start.

He will now replace the diopter in the sight ahead of the World Cup opener in Östersund in a week and a half. Sturla Holm Lægreid hopes that it is the cause of the weak shooting in the premiere.

The elevation screw may be damaged

NRK expert Ola Lunde agrees with Lægreid that this could indeed be the cause.

“It’s absolutely possible. It has happened before. If you drop the rifle, you can damage the so-called elevation screw. That means when you click the adjustment, it doesn’t work as it should.”

Sturla Holm Lægreid is known for being smart, and he has an extra diopter at home.

“Yes, I’m clever enough to have two of everything. When I get home, I’ll dig out the other diopter. And then I’ll buy yet another one and keep it as a reserve-reserve. You have to have two of everything,” he tells NRK.

Whether it helps is something we’ll only find out when things get serious in Östersund, where the World Cup once again begins.

Read More: Fastest men on the shooting range

Norway’s team

These Norwegian athletes are selected for the World Cup opener in Östersund:

Women

• Ragnhild Femsteinevik (Hålandsdal IL)
• Marthe Kråkstad Johansen (Bossmo & Ytteren IL)
• Marit Øygard (Skrautvål IL)
• Maren Hjelmeset Kirkeeide (Markane IL)
• Karoline Offigstad Knotten (Vingrom IL)
• Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (Fossum IF)

Reserve: Karoline Erdal (Førde IL)

Men

• Johan-Olav Smørdal Botn (Stårheim IL)
• Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen (Geilo IL)
• Isak Leknes Frey (Bærums Skiklubb)
• Sturla Holm Lægreid (Bærums Skiklubb)
• Endre Strømsheim (Bærums Skiklubb)
• Vebjørn Sørum (Søndre Ål Sportsklubb)
• Martin Uldal (Birkenes IL)

Reserve: Sivert Guttorm Bakken (Vingrom IL)

World Cup program in Östersund

• November 29 – 13:15 CET: Women’s 4×6 km relay
• November 29 – 16:55 CET: Men’s 4×7.5 km relay
• November 30 – 14:00 CET: Single mixed relay
• November 30 – 16:40 CET: Mixed relay
• December 2 – 15:30 CET: Women’s 15 km individual
• December 3 – 15:30 CET: Men’s 20 km individual
• December 5 – 16:00 CET: Women’s 7.5 km sprint
• December 6 – 16:30 CET: Men’s 10 km sprint
• December 7 – 13:15 CET: Women’s 10 km pursuit
• December 7 – 15:20 CET: Men’s 12.5 km pursuit

Read More – Biathlon World Cup: Calendar for the 2025/2026 winter season

Additional information about the Biathlon World Cup can be found HERE

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