Dahlin was already asked in 2020 to come to Ukraine and visit a newly built stadium, but then came the pandemic and the war between them. Although the war is very much ongoing, Dahlin took the time and courage to go to the war-torn country.
"One of the reasons is that they want to draw attention to the fact that Ukraine can conduct its national championships on Ukrainian soil," Dahlin said in a video interview with SVT Sport.
Today there was a mass start with full starting fields of 30 participants in each class in Bukovel in the southwestern part of the country near the border with Romania, far from the warring east of the country.
"Now everyone in Ukraine will know what biathlon is, and that's a good thing in itself," says Dahlin.
The national anthem followed by a minute's silence
A fund where the International Biathlon Federation has allocated SEK 2.8 million for Ukrainian biathletes has been established and eight national federations have stepped in with support where, among other things, Sweden contributed with a camp in Idre just before the start of the season.
"From a purely financial point of view, it's really tough because the money is prioritized for the defense. High-level activists, not just in biathlon, have been released from the war to become important examples to strengthen the spirit of the war.
What are your personal feelings about being there?
"You get very close, it gets emotional. I'm just coming from the women's mass start awards ceremony where everyone sang the national anthem and held a minute's silence afterwards. It's strong and the information you get when you sit down with individual people also takes," Dahlin said.