Even from the pictures on TV, it was clear that at one point there was a sharper exchange of opinions between the two competitors. Laegreid encouraged Ponsiluoma to alternate at the head of the group fighting for medals, but the Swede refused his encouragement, saying that he did not intend to help any Norwegian.
“So I had to grit my teeth and drag the group on. That’s just how it was. He shouted at me: ‘I will not help any Norwegian’. That was the Swedes’ tactics today,” he commented on the moment for NRK Laegreid television.
“I was a little frustrated with that, which I may have brought with me to the shooting range,” complained the Norwegian, adding that he made a mistake at the subsequent stop at the shooting range. Could it have been the result of a rift with the Swede?
“I was quite surprised by the incident. I thought ‘Ponsi’ was a good guy. But now he has shown his dark side as well,” Laegreid dug into his opponent.
“I think Sebastian (Samuelsson) and Ponsi had a team meeting where they said they’re not going to burn an extra calorie. For me, it would be better if we took turns and helped each other,” Laegreid continued.
Another Nor Tarjei Bö was not at all surprised by the actions of Poniluoma and the other Swedes. “Not at all. They had to do something to beat us. The Swedes managed it very well, they are a tactically very advanced team,” he acknowledged the qualities of the main rivals of the famous pair of brothers.
However, Ponsiluoma himself refused any tactical chess. “He (Laegreid) was the defending champion and a Norwegian, so it was up to him to take responsibility. He wanted me to replace him and tow us. But I didn’t plan to do that. I wanted to save my strength for the end,” Ponsiluoma explained to Expressen newspaper.
And that finally paid off for him, when in the final round, together with Samuelsson, they hid the king of this championship, Johannes Thingnes Bö, who, after one miss in the last shootout, was no longer able to catch up with the Swedes, and after five gold medals and one silver in Oberhof, he had to settle for bronze .
