This weekend the Swedish Roller Biathlon Championships will be held in Sollefteå. Virtually the entire Swedish national team with Öbergs, Samuelsson and Ponsiluoma is in place. But not Linn Persson.
She was instead on SVT this week at the presentation of the documentary "Best when it counts" which followed the biathletes during last winter's record season. After Persson's two surgeries, it has been a different training summer.
"I'm well on my way back, but not completely back, of course. There is a continued rehab period left. I have known for a long time that I would have surgery and knew that this summer would be different. But I miss it.
Therefore, the Värmland native was extra excited when she got to participate in a regular session running with (at least parts of) the team the other day.
– I was super excited about it and finally thought, finally I get to be in the gang again. Then almost no one ended up on the pass. There were a few of us anyway and it was really fun to be involved again. I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to go to the high altitude camp in France starting next week.
Lying shooting troubles after surgery
But the two surgeries have of course affected the training a lot. Above all, the lying shooting where a previously mobile and unstable shoulder has been replaced with a stable and stiffer one.
"In lying down there are problems getting into the right position, I'm a bit stiff. I'm not quick to the first shot yet, there are no 20-second series right now. Since my shoulder was very mobile before, I have had a position that required a movable shoulder, now it is more stable but stiffer, so I have to stretch it out. Right now I'm a little different than before. But during one session I get warm and come down better and better.