Einar Hedegart was highly critical of himself after the Norwegian roller skiing biathlon championships last weekend and hinted at quitting. Now, his coach reveals the plan to turn things around in 50 days.

The 24-year-old was feeling low after the Norwegian roller ski biathlon championships last weekend, where he missed seven out of ten targets in the sprint. In the mass start, he incurred eight penalty laps. Following the championships, he was harsh on himself and even suggested he might quit. 

“I might as well move back to Trøndelag and find a job. I have nothing to do here,” Hedegart told TV 2 after the championships. 

Also Read – Hedegart considering quitting: “I have nothing to do here”

It’s too early to write off Hedegart

Recruitment national team coach Anders Kvam has a different perspective. He has been responsible for Hedegart since he joined the team in May and states that the 24-year-old has shown good progress. 

“I see many have already written off Einar, but it’s too early! The roller ski NM was his two worst training sessions since May. He is in a process, and no one should expect Einar to be at the top of the world from his first race. We are working on building him up to be competitive,” Kvam told Trønder-Avisa.

After last season, when Hedegart focused solely on cross-country skiing, he has averaged five shooting sessions per week, with only one being without a coach. Kvam is pleased with what he sees and believes Hedegart is on track. 

Kvam points out that the first two months of shooting training were conducted at low intensity. Coming in with a high heart rate, as one does in competition, is a completely different matter. 

A plan is in place

Now, Hedegart and Kvam have laid out a plan for the final weeks leading up to the national season opener in Geilo in mid-November. 

The first item on the agenda is a three-week altitude training camp in France with the rest of the national team starting October 8. In addition to focusing on shooting, the plan includes increasing the intensity of physical sessions and training both aspects in combination. 

“I have actually never been behind the schedule we set in May; I’ve been a bit ahead. However, it has also fluctuated based on the focus we’ve had,” Hedegart explains. 

“The hard combination of shooting and cross-country skiing is quite new, and it might have been a bit of a shock for my body at the NM. It’s quick to learn, and I have a lot of faith that my shooting will be much better in Geilo than it was at the NM.”

Just two weeks before the NM at Lygna, Hedegart nearly outperformed the entire national team at the open national championships in Estonia, where only Olympic champion Johan-Olav Botn finished ahead of him.

“I’m not letting the NM stress me, but it would have been nice to show during the NM that I actually have something to contribute to this sport,” says Hedegart.

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