Reunion in the Stadium

Today, the whole biathlon family was back together, with 39 nations and 239 athletes and several hundred staff here in Östersund. It was a bit like a reunion, as both coaches and athletes greeted friends they have not seen since last March.

Appropriately, for the first unofficial World Cup training day, it finally snowed in Östersund. For more than two weeks, this Winter City has been plagued by rain. Yet over the weekend, the skies dropped some light snow and this morning heavier snow came down. Although the tracks were adequately covered with artificial snow, this natural addition can only improve conditions. Coaches hoped the fresh snow would cover the rocks that came up through the older artificial snow, while making it look like real winter conditions for the upcoming television broadcasts.

Bjorn Ferry at Sweden Team Press Conference

The athletes and coaches from the hometown Swedish Team met with local and national media representatives this afternoon at a downtown Östersund hotel. For a couple of hours, the athletes and coaches answered questions, and did one-on-one interviews for print, radio and television reporters.

Biathlonworld asked Ferry, ninth in the Overall World Cup last season a few questions. The 31-year old Ferry was on the podium three times last season, including a win for the second year in a row in the Antholz Pursuit.

While preparing for this Olympic season, he suffered a broken collarbone in a rollerski accident in Ruhpolding. His injury was serious enough to require surgery and possibly derail his season. Yet, a little over two months after the accident and surgery, he will be on the starting line this week in Östersund.

Ferry talks about the accident and recovery in this short video interview.