Biathlon star Tero Seppala leaves the national team – the coach’s strict principle behind the decision – sport – svenska.yle.fi

Finland’s top name in biathlon will not be in the national team next season. Head coach Erik Bartlett-Kolstad is critical of Seppala’s desire to train with his personal trainer.

The Finnish Biathlon Federation will soon announce its line-up for the next season. One name that will shine with his absence is Tero Seppälä.

The strict guidelines of Norwegian coach Erik Bartlett-Kolstad are behind the decision.

Kolstad, who took over as head coach after the 2022 Olympics, expects full participation in national team activities from the selected athletes. According to the Kulstad Guidelines, the athlete must follow a training program planned by a coach, not the athlete’s personal trainer.

The union supports the decision

This past spring, Seppala accepted a spot on the national team, but trained mainly with his personal coach, Anatoly Hovantsev, during the training period. Even during the training camps, Seppala wanted to continue to follow Hovantsev’s training program, something that was not appreciated by national team coach Kolstad.

The President of the Biathlon Federation, Kale Ladismäki, confirmed on Friday that it is not yet clear whether Seppala will participate in international competitions next season.

– If he does well in the qualifiers at the end of the year, Eric can pick him up for the World Cup squad. There is no conflict between Tero and Erik but they have discussed it in agreement. Lähdesmäki says the association supports the Kulstad Guidelines.

Seppälä is one of Finland’s leading names in biathlon. In the 2021-2022 season, it was 12th in the World Cup. He struggled last season and finished 29th.