On Wednesday, the news came that the Swedish and Italian biathlon federations have agreed that Lukas Hofer will run his summer training together with the Swedish men's national team.
- There are several biathletes who have stopped in Italy and he was eager to try something new and we also felt that we want to try something new that no other nation has done recently.
I'm sure it will help both, says Johannes Lukas.
In what way will it benefit the Swedish national team?
- Our goal is to develop our men's team even more.
We have made a very good investment nationally with the development team, with many active and many good coaches who can support all young Swedish biathletes, but there has been something missing to develop our men's team.
In the women's team we see every day that we have brutally good sparring, in every session there is someone who has stood out and it has driven us forward.
We want to create that situation on the men's side as well, says Lukas.
Will you keep anything secret from him?
- He will train with us and follow the plan, but he will not get an insight into the entire basic system.
From the Italian side, they are happy about the opportunity.
- I thank the Swedish biathlon association for this opportunity.
The comparison between the different training methods will help Lukas Hofer increase his knowledge and strengthen him in his preparations for next season, says Flavio Roda, chairman of the Italian Winter Sports Federation, in a press release.