The Swedish-Norwegian super talent chose Sweden. Seeing what’s happening in Norway, he has no doubts anymore.

“I feel good about being Swedish right now,” says Swedish-Norwegian biathlon talent Philip Lindkvist Flötten. 

Last winter’s Junior World Championships were a resounding success. Just six months after joining the Norwegian private team Team Consto, the 19-year-old from Bærum brought home three medals, was named the best athlete of the championship, and made his World Cup debut at the finals in Holmenkollen – for Sweden. 

Lindkvist Flötten is described as a generational talent, and in April he accepted a spot on the Swedish elite national team. 

“Now that I have chosen a nation, it will be Sweden for the rest of my career,” Lindkvist Flötten told Langrenn.com after the stellar season.  

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Thrilled to be Swedish

Now, Lindkvist Flötten is even more certain that he made the best decision. 

The unrest within the Norwegian national team has been a hot topic for years, with athletes feeling overlooked and unfairly treated, and constant disputes over selections. The situation is a consequence of many strong competitors vying for very few spots. 

This year’s national team selections reached a boiling point when both Vebjørn Sørum and Endre Strømsheim, who won two gold medals at last year’s World Championships, were left out. Strømsheim was furious and lashed out at the federation. 

“Overall, this results in an unpredictable and unnecessarily unstable withdrawal policy where national team athletes are treated disrespectfully as disposable,” Strømsheim thundered after the scrapping. 

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Shocked by the situation

The junior comet has never been on a Norwegian national team, but he understands that the skiers constantly have a knife at their throats. 

“When I see the national team selection (in Norway), I feel that it is wonderful to be Swedish, when athletes like (Vebjørn) Sørum and (Endre) Strømsheim do not get a place. It fluctuates so much, you have to be good all the time,” says Lindkvist Flötten to Expressen.

He believes it may be a burden that hinders performance. 

“There is a lot of pressure around the season opener, for example, and at all sorts of less important races. And then you might end up being a bit tired when you get to the really important competitions,” says Lindkvist Flötten. 

Generational talent

Coach Martin Eng of Team Consto describes Lindkvist Flötten as a rough diamond with enormous potential, sky-high O2 uptake and insane self-confidence – a performer of the type that there are only a few of in each generation. 

When the team got the 19-year-old on the treadmill in the test lab, the numbers were so extreme that the test lab wondered if he manipulated the test. During the year with the Lillehammer-based private team, Lindkvist Flötten has made incredible strides both technically and physically.

Don’t feel pressure

Sweden’s national team coach is very pleased that Lindkvist Flötten chose Sweden, and believes the youngster will develop a lot in the environment they are creating in Östersund.

And even though the junior talent is now part of the Swedish elite national team, and his ambitions for the coming season are sky-high, he doesn’t feel any great pressure. 

“I just do the best I can. I train as hard as I can, and do everything around as well as I can. Then we’ll see what happens; I can’t do more. That’s how I try to think,” says Lindkvist Flötten, and adds:

“The level of training is very high. I’m excited to see how hard they actually drive and how the calm sessions turn out.”  

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