Sweden Opens Season with Single Mixed Relay Win

Sweden won this morning’s season-opening single mixed relay thrilling the home crowd with a 37:46.9 effort, despite using eight spare rounds. Sebastian Samuelsson took control of the competition with a fast perfect clean stage in his second prone stage after struggling in his first leg. From that point, he and teammate Hanna Oeberg went unchallenged to claim the first win of the 2023/24 BMW IBU World Cup season.

Sebbe’s Shaking Legs

Samuelsson after struggling on the range in his first leg commented, “The first standing was tough for me. I started good but when I had a mistake, my legs started shaking. When that starts, it is hard (to shoot). But I am very happy I turned it around in the second part.”

“A bit more exciting than it had to be”

Samuelsson's teammate Oeberg had a superb first leg but made the competition a bit interesting when she used two spares in the final standing stage. “I was very satisfied with my first leg. I managed to take us back to the top. I made the second leg a bit more exciting than it had to be with the two spare bullets. Still, I really enjoyed racing today: it was so much fun to start the season, especially with the crowds that were really great."

Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid and Juni Arnekleiv, finished second, 13.8 seconds back with six spare rounds. Julia Simon with a superb last leg brought France back from seventh position to finish third with her teammate Fabien Claude, 42.2 seconds back after two penalties and twelve spare rounds.

Watch the Highlights Below

Early See-saw Battle

The new season opened under cloudy skies, a chilly -9°C and the typical pesky wind on the range. A see-saw battle erupted from the start with Austria, Switzerland and Germany leading the pack. Norway and France both used spare rounds in the men’s opening leg, keeping them out of the top group.

France quickly got back in the mix with Simon’s brilliant first leg punctuated by a fast clean prone stage, while Arnekleiv’s strong standing shooting put them in the mix, as Oeberg brought the Swedes up to third, less than seven seconds behind Simon.

BMW IBU World Cup 1 Oestersund: Single Mixed Relay

Oeberg Seals the Victory

Samuelsson broke the competition open with ten perfect shots in his second leg, putting Sweden 17.3 seconds up at the final exchange. Oeberg with two spares in both of her final stages remained cool and collected, never ceding the lead before pulling away for a solid win in the last loop.

Slovenia had their best-ever result in a single mixed relay in fourth place, 47.4 seconds back. Austria finished fifth, 56.9 seconds back with Switzerland in sixth 59.9 seconds back.

Photos: IBU/Per Danielsson