Published 2024-02-18 15.18
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NOVE MESTO. Mona Brorsson retires from biathlon after the season.
Her teammates cried when they talked about her departure.
– She really is the link that holds us together, says Hanna Öberg.
Mona Brorsson finished the WC with a 21st place in the mass start and it was the last WC race of her career.
Brorsson turns 34 in March and then puts his rifle and skis on the shelf.
– It feels almost surreal to say it out loud, but I have also felt that I need to say it out loud myself to understand. But the time has come. I can feel that I have had such a long and fine career. Biathlon and I have explored every little stone on the road and I have landed in the fact that now is the time to go our separate ways. But that is entirely my own decision. I will leave the sport with joy, there is no sadness. Even though you may not reach all of your performance goals, I feel that I have gained so much more from this sport. It has really given me everything. I have gained an extra family, my very best friends and learned so much about myself. I have found the love of my life (Vallaren Gustav Larsson). I can’t ask for more from this sport, says Brorsson.
Brorsson has thought that the season was the last since last summer.
– The thoughts crept in already last season actually, but I felt that it didn’t go the way I wanted. I was very determined that I wanted to give it another try, she says.
Even though the decision was already made during the pre-season, she only told coach Johannes Lukas and her partner about it.
– I’ve pretended and said like “oh – the next training camp, god how much fun it’s going to be!” Lol.
– I wanted to focus on the right things and it gets so emotional. I mean, just looking at the other girls makes me break down, so I couldn’t say it too early. But now it was time.
The friends in tears
The teammates will miss Brorsson, who was a cohesive link in the team.
– She has been involved from the beginning. We will miss her. I think it’s so nice that she can make that decision on her own terms and that it will be a nice end to a fantastic career, says teammate Hanna Öberg.
Öberg is moved to tears when she talks about Brorsson.
– She really is the link that holds us together.
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full screenMona Brorsson. Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
“Emotional”
Anna Magnusson also cried and said “one question about you and you’re fired” to Brorsson when she tried to hold back the tears at Sportbladet’s television camera.
– Mona has meant an incredible amount to this team and to me personally. She will be missed, says Magnusson.
Linn Persson:
– It’s always nice to have Mona in the team. We have lived together a lot and it will be empty.
Elvira Öberg:
– What Mona has meant to this women’s team is really hard to describe. She will be missed.
In his career, Brorsson has, among other things, won Olympic gold in the relay in 2022 and taken relay silver in both the WC and the Olympics. In the World Cup, she has taken two individual podium places, but never won.
