Will the World Cup be a bird or a fish - that is what Hanna Öberg decides

Sweden's WC can be a huge success, this year's start to the season is the best ever.

But it can also be like last year, that the yellows are close time and time again, but in the end we have to settle for a lone bronze on the last day of the World Cup.

What determines whether it will be a bird, fish or in between?

Hanna Öberg.

Öberg has a unique opportunity in Pokljuka.

For the first time, the best ladies will have the chance to stand there on the last shot woman against woman and fight for World Cup gold, five times.

In the past, ladies have never had more than three such chances.

This is when the IBU in this World Cup reverses the traditional order and lets the ladies finish the mixed relays (they are two now).

Hunting start, mass start, relay, mixed relay and single mix relay - in all these races Hanna Öberg (if she is in shape and wants / can run everything) will get the chance as a finisher and thus the part she is best at.

The mental and rock-hard fight in the last shooter where everything is decided.

Without having numbers on it, I would say that Öberg is the second best in the world at this.

Marte Olsbu Röiseland is a real champion in the branch she is with.

Dorothea Wierer is not far behind, and Julia Simon and Franziska Preuss have also shown that they can handle the pressure.

Nobody wants to stand next to Öberg

But Hanna Öberg is ruggedly strong here.

She is almost always first to the shot.

Shoots fastest of all and usually hits most - or all.

None of the competitors want to stand next to Öberg in these situations.

If Hanna gets right into the championship, and manages the last shot well in one of the first races so that the press releases, then it can be pure medal rain for Sweden.

Preferably, she fixes success already in the initial mix relay - a discipline where Sweden has not won a medal since 2010.

But we must of course not forget that it was precisely in the last shot that the nerves betrayed Öberg at last year's WC in Antholz.

Several times there were gold positions, which were literally blocked off in the last stand.

So even the best can miss, everyone has done it.

There are no guarantees

Biathlon is difficult to tip.

Sweden has started the season better than ever.

There are realistic medal hopes in all twelve races, we must not forget Samuelsson, Ponsiluoma, Elvira Ö and the others.

But there are absolutely no guarantees for medal rain.

What we do know is that the probable answer to the question of whether the World Cup will be a success, a failure or in between is spelled Hanna Öberg.