Ranked in the top 10 of the World Cup and second overall in the sprint cup, the 24-year-old has been overlooked for the Swedish national team. George Ersson does not hold back on his feelings about the decision.

He has had the best season of his career, achieving his best results in the World Cup, along with victories and placements nationally. Yet, George Ersson has been left out of the Swedish national team.

The 24-year-old is now disappointed.

“Based on how selections have been made in the past, I actually thought I would make the A-team. But that didn’t happen. I am really disappointed,” he told Sundsvalls Tidning. 

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Did not meet criteria

The national team management justifies the exclusion by stating that Ersson did not meet the criteria for the A-team, which requires at least two top 10 finishes in the World Cup.

The sprint specialist has a seventh place from the pre-World Championships in Falun, along with an 11th and 12th places as his best World Cup results. He has advanced from the prologue in all sprint competitions he has participated in this winter, and he finished as the second-best Swede in the overall sprint World Cup standings.

Now he has joined Team Bauhaus. It stings.

“I am really disappointed, and I have told them that too,” he says. 

Arbitrary use of judgment

There is one particular issue that has Ersson reacting strongly: what he perceives as an arbitrary use of judgment. 

“I know there are athletes who have made it into the A-team with worse placements than mine. I think it’s wrong when sometimes they choose to include people who haven’t met the criteria and at other times they don’t,” he says.

And when the Association also reduces the men’s team from seven to five athletes, it becomes too much for Ersson. 

“I think it’s poorly done, especially when they don’t fill all the spots on the team either. But it is what it is. You just have to accept it.”  

George Ersson made his World Cup debut in Lillehammer in December 2021. Since then, he has participated in 24 World Cup events, 19 of which were in the sprint.

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