Johan-Olav Smoerdal Botn topped a Norwegian sweep in the sprint of the Estonian Summer Biathlon National Championships in Otepaa, where the next LaVita IBU World Championships will be taking place next winter.

The Scandinavian powerhouse chose Otepaa for a training camp for the first time after years of prioritising altitude training, giving the team a chance to get accustomed to the peculiar track profile and, especially, the shooting range where the next big medals will be decided.

The Norwegians only took part in the Saturday’s sprint, which was held in intense rain that made conditions particularly difficult at the range. Nonetheless, the team proved their class sweeping the three podium spots with Botn coming ahead of Einar Hedegard and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen.

“It was a good race, especially on the course”, commented the winner, who missed twice at the range. “But I know that it came after a quite tough camp, and I know that I handle the fatigue quite well and it was in my favour. Like always it’s nice to know that the shape is back, especially after a summer with a lot of sickness. But the shooting was not good enough, so I know what to improve before the season!”

The presence of the Norwegian team at the Estonian Nationals was welcomed by the hosts too, giving the local athletes the chance to train and compete alongside some of the world’s best. The home team’s rising star, Mark-Markos Kehva took the second place in the Sunday’s mass start, in which the Norwegians did not participate. However, he was very enthusiast about the weeks spent in their company.

“It was a dream come true to train alongside them”, he commented. “Most of us have been looking up to them since we were little kids. They have what we all dream of having: the qualities and the titles. So, it was a total privilege to train with them, ask them questions about their training and stuff like this. They were super open, very kind and made us feel like equals”.

Kehva did not get the chance to fight his heroes in the mass start but could still be proud of himself as he edged past Andrejs Rastorgujevs – a world championships medallist in the format- to seize the silver medal.

“It was a big fight with Rastorgujevs and Henning Sjoekvist. It is always fun to compete at home, and we do it in kind-of the same tracks as in the World Champs, so that is very cool and I am happy about the outcome”.

For Botn, the sprint results were a nice confirmation of the team’s work, but what mattered most was the quality of the training in Estonia.

“First of all, it was a really nice venue to train with a really long roller ski loop and a nice range with good service!” Botn explained. “So, we got a lot of good training done in Otepaa that will be important for the whole season and not just for the World Championships, but in addition to that it gave us a lot of repetitions on the range and especially the last 300m before the range that is easy - with a downhill - but also quite long so you can’t waste too much time either”.

The long flat section before the range is a unique feature of the Estonian venue, as the shooting range is next to a football pitch. In the summer, therefore, it offers the chance for a different kind of battle and team bonding.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t dare to join the football match because I know my legs are made of cardboard so to avoid injury, I thought it was best to stay away”, Botn admitted. But despite being sidelined, he could still enjoy the welcome of the local team: “They had a good time on the pitch; it’s always nice to hang out with the Estonian team!”

Kehva also could not join the match, and he also felt sad to be missing out.

“I had the biggest fomo ever looking at that, but it was awesome how friendly the Norwegians were, they really took us along like good friends and this is priceless. We felt very good with them and I could tell they all had fun.”

Hopefully, the next time we visit Otepaa, the football pitch will be hidden by a big layer of fluffy new snow. If the welcome from the Estonian team is anything to go by, though, the vibes will be just as warm.

Photos: Biathlon Otepaa - Reiko Kolatsk - Martin Vesberg - Greta Kulvet - Rene Zahkna IG