Sweden's women's biathlon team has lost another key figure for the coming winter – this time for the happiest of reasons. Linn Gestblom is pregnant and will miss the entire 2026/27 season. The 32-year-old shared the news on Instagram on Saturday. "This winter I'll be following biathlon from the TV sofa. If all goes well, we'll become parents in March," she wrote.
That rules Gestblom out not only of the World Cup, which opens in Kontiolahti, Finland, on November 26, but also of the World Championships in Otepää, Estonia, from February 10 to 21, 2027. For the Swedish team it is the second major gap following the absence of Hanna Öberg.
A second baby break for Sweden
Hanna Öberg announced in July that she and her partner, fellow biathlete Martin Ponsiluoma, are expecting their first child. The 30-year-old is also sitting out the full winter. As SVT pointed out, Sweden now head into the season without two of the four women who won relay silver at the Milan Cortina Olympics in February 2026.
The reaction inside the team was warm. Head coach Johannes Lukas replied to the post with "Congratulations. Team baby boom," according to Sportbibeln. Teammate Sebastian Samuelsson, already a father himself, wrote: "The best thing in life." Cross-country skier Stina Nilsson also chimed in with celebratory emojis.
Comeback after a long injury spell
It means another season away from the trails for Gestblom, though, as SVT noted, under far brighter circumstances than before. The Swede had been held back by injury problems for long periods and only returned to competition last winter, a comeback she capped by racing in the Olympic silver-medal relay. Four years earlier in Beijing, competing under her maiden name Linn Persson, she skied the opening leg as Sweden's women won a historic Olympic relay gold.
Her absence hurts Sweden's depth. In the relay in particular, the experienced Gestblom had been a dependable option alongside Elvira Öberg and Anna Magnusson.
BiathlonIBU changes mass start rule: only top 20 qualify automaticallySamuelsson ill, Nelin still in rehab
The wider picture in the Swedish camp is not ideal ahead of the first test of the autumn either. According to the Swedish Biathlon Federation, Sebastian Samuelsson and Malte Stefansson will miss the upcoming training camp in Ruhpolding through illness, while Jesper Nelin is still rehabilitating a knee injury.
Lukas will gather a group in Ruhpolding that includes Elvira Öberg, Anna Magnusson, Anna-Karin Heidenberg, Ella Halvarsson, Johanna Skottheim and Sara Andersson, along with Martin Ponsiluoma, Viktor Brandt and Zebastian Modin among the men. "We haven't had many joint camps this year, so it feels good to bring the group together once more," the head coach said.
The camp doubles as preparation for the Loop One Festival in Munich's Olympiapark on October 17 and 18, where 60 of the world's best biathletes will race on rollerskis through qualifications and finals. The federation plans to name its final squad for Munich early this week.
