Sweden took the thrilling Women’s Relay: “It Is Always Really Nice to Win the Fight on the Last Loop”

The victorious Swedish team consisted of Anna Magnusson, Sara Andersson, Hanna Oeberg and Elvira Oeberg.

The team was strained by one penalty loop and six spare rounds, but in the end, Oeberg rose to the first position in the last leg.

Julia Simon of France brought her team across the finish line 29 seconds behind the winners, and Norway finished third.

Oeberg and Simon fought hard for the win until the wall climb, when Simon had to stop briefly, and Oeberg ran off to victory.

- Of course, it is unfortunate that Julia seems to have some kind of issue. I hope she is fine, but it is always nice to win the fight on the last loop, cross the finish line with a victory, and celebrate with the team, said Oeberg who celebrated the victory with joy.

Lehtonen: “I am really proud of myself and the team”

Finland held their position at the top of the pack for a long time and finished 8th.

The Finnish team consisted of Suvi Minkkinen, Venla Lehtonen, Inka Hamalainen and Sonja Leinamo.

Minkkinen’s strategy was to have two laps as easy as possible.

- I sped up towards the end. I am satisfied with it. I am very happy about our team’s performance. It is lovely to see that we can place in the top 8 with this kind of not-perfect performance, said Minkkinen.

Also, Lehtonen was glad about her own performance as well as the team’s.

- I am proud of myself and our team. I was in control and calm during my entire leg. I took it as easy as I could coming in to standing. I felt sure I would do well. It was a surprise to be in the 3rd place, said Lehtonen and thanked the home crowd for the cheers that gave her a push. 

Young Hamalainen got into a tough spot in front of the home crowd.

- I was shaking a bit in the standing stage when shooting the spares. I had to try to stay patient until the wall climb. 

Leinamo was glad to watch her teammates go strong before her leg.

- Skiing felt good. The prone shooting was very good, but I took too few clicks and missed on the edge. Standing was a battle, said Leinamo and was proud to have pulled it through without penalty loops.

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Original text in Finnish: Heidi Lehikoinen
Translation into English: Hanna Sairanen