"The sport is brutal!" Biathlon star is kicked off the team after just one World Cup

Oslo (Norway) - What the Germans can do, the Norwegians can do too, only at a much higher level: the coaching team of the nation so accustomed to success is showing itself to be rigorous after the first World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, and is throwing a top biathlon star out of the squad .

Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (27) has to return to the second-class Ibu Cup. After all, the athlete finished third in the previous season's World Cup, so such consistent action comes as a surprise.

However, the competition among the Norwegians is so fierce that the athletes can hardly afford any weaknesses, as the newcomers are already scrambling. Martin Uldal (23) will benefit from Dale-Skjevdal's provisional withdrawal.

Team manager Per-Arne Botnan stated bluntly on the news portal"TV2" that the 27-year-old was simply "too bad".

The two-time silver medal winner at the World Championships came in 63rd place in the individual event, making two shooting errors in the process.

In the sprint and mass start races that followed, he finished 23rd and 21st, missing the targets a total of nine times.

"Sport is brutal. It can be great fun when it's fun, but it's not very motivating when it's bad. I'll see what the future brings," a dejected Dale-Skjevdal told "TV2".

Nevertheless, he was still in a joking mood: "Maybe I should grab Iver Tildheim Andersen, go home and have ten beers with him," he said with a laugh.

The Norwegian cross-country skier (24) had uttered this witty sentence after his disappointing eighth place at the national opener in Beitostølen and the resulting missed World Cup qualification.

World champion Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (28), who had been struggling with worrying heart problems in Kontiolahti, will also be replaced in the Norwegian team.

She will be replaced by Marit Øygard (25), who will celebrate her World Cup debut in Hochfilzen next weekend.