The Swedish national biathlon team's journey is usually described in terms of gold and medals.
In 2018, a group of young idols went to the Olympics in Pyeongchang – and made a success of it. Since then, the success has only continued.
Now the talents have grown up and most of them have passed 30.
Then it is possible to talk about another type of trip.
- As long as we have an openness in the team, I see no obstacles with this, says head coach Johannes Lukas to DN.
- Then I only see opportunities.
What he is talking about is that all of a sudden he has both parents and parents-to-be in his national team.
It gives perspective.
Lukas himself was only 22 years old when he began his coaching career in 2015 as an intern for then national team captain Wolfgang Pichler. At the time, today's biathlon star Sebastian Samuelsson was still in school, Hanna Öberg had just finished high school.
Now Samuelsson has a daughter who has turned two. Öberg and same-age partner Martin Ponsiluoma are to become parents this winter. And Jesper Nelin, a couple of years older and currently on his way back from a knee injury, had a son this spring.
- I think it is fantastic to see the journey we have made with the team. I started very young myself, I have had activists who were brutally young when they joined, says Johannes Lukas.
- Now we have really grown with time, we have several parents in the team, and solve it very well.
The national team is currently in camp in France but has otherwise almost exclusively trained at home in Östersund during the pre-season.
Do you have to think differently about your setup?
- In part it will be like that, absolutely. But I think a strength is that we have always had a rather individual approach, says Lukas and gives a couple of examples:
- Take Sebastian, it's obviously a new situation when his daughter goes to preschool and might bring home an illness or when it might not be possible to be on the range at 8.15am. And for Jesper, we have also adapted a lot based on "is he sleeping, isn't he sleeping?". But these are things that are natural.
That last one is also something that the now 33-year-old Lukas now recognizes well.
Johannes Lukas is also a new father.
He likes to keep private things private, says Sweden's German coach. But the experience clearly gives advantages in the profession.
- I recognize many situations, says Johannes Lukas.
- As for example now with Hanna, when I have experienced it myself - with my wife - I obviously have much more understanding of how she (Öberg) describes it (the pregnancy), how it can vary day by day.
- Or when Jesper says that "today I can't run intervals because I've barely slept because the child screamed all night". Maybe otherwise you would have thought "but what, it can't be that difficult, can it?". But if you've been through it yourself and barely had the strength to get up after a hard night, yes - then as a coach I understand exactly what he means.
The 14-time Olympic and World Cup medalist Sebastian Samuelsson has previously told DN that he wants to show that you can be both a parent - and a biathlete.
18-time medalist Hanna Öberg has been clear that she wants to return after the pregnancy, and Olympic number one Martin Ponsiluoma says about what lies ahead:
- I think it's good to not only think about biathlon all the time, you want more in life, so it's something I'm really looking forward to.
That active people can combine elite sports and parenting is "fantastic", also says Johannes Lukas:
- I see it as a boost, and as something that can extend careers.
In biathlon, names like Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (France) and Janina Hettich-Walz (Germany) have returned to the world elite after having children.
Clear examples can also be found in other sports:
- Sarah Sjöström, who is unique, is perhaps a little more difficult for us to compare ourselves to - with number of competitions, number of travel days - but that also provides inspiration, says Lukas.
Swimming star Sjöström took the 18th EC gold of her career in long course this summer, barely a year after giving birth to her son Adrian. At the same time, women's path back to elite sport after pregnancy is in many ways still uncharted territory.
Have you made contact with other athletes' coaches who have experience of this?
- Yes, I have done that, says Johannes Lukas, who last spring extended his contract beyond the 2030 Olympics.
- I am very interested in other sports, other active methods. So I've added that question now, about exercise when someone is pregnant, way back. I will also talk more with SOK (Swedish Olympic Committee) and RF (National Sports Confederation), to get the research help.
He does not want to reveal exactly who he has been in contact with, laughs the biathlon coach.
- But if you are open, and if you have made some connections, you can get many good things from other sports and other coaches. Then it is certainly very individual, you have to find your own concept - but certainly the exchange of experience will be very important.
