Biathlon-Sweden's Oeberg revels in Anterselva atmosphere ahead of Games

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 4 - The crack of rifle shots echoed off the towering peaks that surround the Antholz-Anterselva biathlon arena on Wednesday as the athletes looked forward to a carnival atmosphere when the mixed relay kicks off the biathlon competitions at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Sunday.

As they powered around the course before firing volleys of shots towards the metal targets 50 metres away, all that was missing was the roar of the thousands of fervent fans who will pack the stands when the racing gets underway.

"The conditions at the arena here in Antholz are really good, you can clearly see how much work has gone into getting everything in place. The snowy weather has made it a little bit heavier to ski, but it's not something that has affected my preparations," Sweden's Elvira Oeberg told Reuters.

The 26-year-old, who picked up one gold and two silver medals at her first Olympics in Beijing four years ago, endured a tough workout on the course before crossing the finish line and falling to the snow to recover as she brought one of her final pre-Olympic training sessions to a close.

With her was older sister Hanna, a member of the same gold medal-winning relay team in 2022 and who also has a gold from the 15km individual race at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.

The pair are in a close-knit Swedish team that will be expecting to challenge for the podium in each of the 11 events, starting with Sunday's mixed relay.

The swish of skis and the crack of shots were the only sounds heard for most of the morning, with the occasional booming announcement from the public address system cutting through the sounds of the athletes at work.

As the temperature hovered around freezing, crews of technicians quietly went about their work, pulling cables and setting up the cameras that will broadcast the action into living rooms and onto mobile devices around the world.

The arena, situated in the Dolomite mountains about six kilometres from Italy's border with Austria, is a popular one with the competitors, not least because of the lively crowd it tends to attract.

"It is a familiar arena that I have competed in many times before, the atmosphere is usually festive, both in the stadium and out along the course," Oeberg said.

"I'm really looking forward to getting this (Olympic) championship started." REUTERS