Blasts Sweden after crisis relay: “Terribly bad”

OSLO / VAL DI FIEMME (HBO Max)

While the Norwegian men could celebrate a convincing relay victory in Val di Fiemme — where Johannes Høsflot Klæbo made Olympic history — it went decidedly worse for the Swedish men.

Johan Häggström, Calle Halfvarsson, William Poromaa and Edvin Anger represented Sweden on Sunday’s Olympic course, but things really did not go their way. The final result: a clear last place — three and a half minutes behind Norway.

"This is remarkable. It’s terribly bad. There are two different Swedish teams, a men’s team and a women’s team. You would think they train for two very different things, because they perform so differently," said HBO Max expert Martin Johnsrud Sundby about the Swedish men.

Switzerland finished second-last and were still 45 seconds ahead of Sweden at the finish.

Another HBO Max expert added: "They have been a powerhouse in men’s distance skiing for 100 years. What they are delivering now with a last place in a relay… is that possible?" Devon Kerhsaw continued, "They have some big names like Poromaa and Anger, but they produce weak races one after another. Let’s hope for the Swedish fans that they pull an Emil Iversen and come back stronger." (Iversen was part of the Norwegian team that won gold on Sunday.)

When Halfvarsson set off on the second leg after Häggström’s handoff, Sweden was already 38 seconds behind Norway.

"It wasn’t inspiring to go out last there. I had the thought to open hard to see if I could catch some time, maybe the front would slow. So I had that hope, but I had a lot of equipment problems today," Halfvarsson told HBO Max.

"The relay was decided already on the first leg. Johan is better than that; I had the feeling ‘either he is sick or there is something wrong with the equipment,’" the Swede added.

Meanwhile Norway celebrated a dominant relay and Klæbo’s remarkable feat.

Related: Norway dominant in the relay — Klæbo with a wild feat (Eurosport)

(Photo credits: Eurosport)