My Monday Routine with Sebastian Samuelsson
In his ninth World Cup season, Sebastian Samuelsson finished fourth in the World Cup Total Score, hit a career-high 84% of his shots, and headed into summer with a victory in the season-ending Holmenkollen Mass Start.
Samuelsson has matured from a surprise 2018 Olympic Silver medalist to a ten-time IBU WCH medalist and in the last year to the father of daughter, Elsa. After a hard morning of training, the 28-year-old Swede detailed his Monday routine and how life has changed in the past year.
Biathlonworld: What time do you wake up on Mondays and what is the first thing you do after waking up?
Sebastian Samuelsson: I wake up at seven. If I am at home, the first thing I do is say “Good morning’ to my daughter and girlfriend if they are awake. If at camp, I look at my phone to see if there was any news during the night.
BW: What is the first app you look at when you turn on your phone?
SS: It is my Oura ring app. It checks my pulse and how the sleep was.
BW: What makes your breakfast routine perfect?
SS: I’m not so good at breakfast. Normally, I am a bit tired in the morning, you feel like you want to get out training and then I rush through it. But on days where there is not much stress, it is nice to relax a bit.
BW: Coffee or tea?
SS: In the morning, I drink coffee with milk, but not so much during the day.
BW: Does your early morning regime include stretching, yoga, a jog or mental preparation for the day ahead?
SS: No, nothing like that. I have breakfast, change my clothes and go directly to training. I have no time for those kinds of things!
BW: Do you consider yourself a perfectionist when it comes to training?
SS: That is a good question. I think I would not say perfectionist, but I really take training seriously. It should have a purpose. You should do it correctly and have a plan; no standing around. You should understand why you are doing what you do. It should be tack, tack, tack! That is opposite of my personal life where I am more relaxed.
BW: Are you fearless in most situations?
SS: No, tomorrow we are going for a six-hour bike session and for example, in the downhills, I will lose quite a lot of minutes to the rest of the team. In those situations, I am quite cautious.
BW: When the day is over, what do you do to wind down?
SS: I love this last hour of the day when you can just lay on the sofa and watch TV. That’s my mental break.
BW: What piece of advice guides you every day?
SS: Try to have a focus on sustainability, in myself. I want to have a long career and I want it to be fun; something that I can do for a long time. I don’t want to put my head down and just go. I want to be good in the long run; enjoy the journey.
BW: What is the hardest part of being a professional biathlete?
SS: It’s changed over the years, but now it is the amount of travel.
BW: What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as an athlete?
SS: I have not had many challenges. I’ve had no big injuries, but one challenge I am very proud of is my 2023 World Championship in Oberhof. I had this mixed relay where everything was a disaster and then to come back and win four medals after that. The whole first part of that season was a disaster, and I think many athletes would have given up. I continued and it paid off.
BW: What is your biggest indulgence?
SS: It’s my Coke Zero. I have not been to the store during this camp, so I am missing it. But at home I have a good amount of cans!
BW: What is your most prized possession?
SS: It’s my treadmill! I really love the situation I created for myself.
BW: What home project is on your “to do” list before the new season starts?
SS: We will be building a deck around the garage.
BW: Biggest lesson being a dad has taught you?
SS: To be more efficient. Now, you realize that if you have five free minutes, you want to use them, because everything is much more hectic…And actually I realized how important it is to actually sleep! Before you went to bed a little bit late and it was not a big deal because you could easily sleep during the day. Now, you don’t want to have a bad night because you never recover.
Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Nordic Focus, Sebastian Samuelsson.
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