– I feel incredibly sad for her. I know how disappointed she was last time, and she really deserved a medal more than anyone else, says NRK’s expert commentator Katrine Aannestad Lund.
There was great anticipation before the last medal chance for the Norwegian shooters on Friday.
There was Jeanette Hegg Duestad, who had been considered a strong medal candidate in advance, the opportunity to save the Norwegian shooters’ honor in the Olympics with a medal.
After three different events and a good start in kneeling and prone shooting, everything fell apart at the end during standing shooting.
Hegg Duestad, who took two fourth places at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, had to settle for the bitter fourth place again.
– Jeanette is so good, does so much, and sacrifices so much for this that I would have wished her a medal now. I think she would have been very happy for it, says sports director Tor Idar Aune to NRK after the final.
FOURTH PLACE: Duestad could become the first Norwegian woman with an individual Olympic medal since the 2008 Olympics, but again, it ended with a fourth place.
Photo: AP
– Vulnerable to good thoughts
When Hegg Duestad is asked what she thinks about the support from Aannestad Lund, tears come.
– Right now I am a bit vulnerable to good thoughts. It’s very nice of Katrine. And yes, I do everything here and now, it’s completely empty, says Hegg Duestad to NRK after the final.
She will continue to work on her shooting, but is unsure if we will see her in the 2028 Olympics.
– It’s four years until the next time, and we will see if I go there. But we have the European Championships and the World Championships, and a lot of other fun before that.
Coach Espen Berg Knutsen, in contrast to Hegg Duestad, is sure that she will be at the Olympics in 2028.
– I do not decide for Jeanette, but I am absolutely sure that you will see her in the Olympics in four years, says Berg Knutsen.
Sports director Tor Idar Aune believes that Hegg Duestad’s fourth place and Jon-Hermann Hegg’s fifth place yesterday are signs that the Norwegian shooters were well prepared before the Olympics, but that they would have liked to be even better.
– I think most understand that it is a great achievement to finish fourth and fifth in the Olympics, but to climb onto the podium, we need to be even better, says Aune.
– I have no chance
With a high starting pulse in kneeling shooting, Hegg Duestad was in fifth place.
– Right within starting, she has shot well given the pulse I think she has, it’s just that those above have shot extremely well here at the start, says NRK’s expert commentator Katrine Aannestad Lund.
In prone, Hegg Duestad continued her good shooting and climbed up a place on the table.
– It’s actually very comfortable in kneeling and prone. I know that it’s when I get to standing that there could be some movements, says Hegg Duestad.
AT SHOOTING RANGE: Jeanette Hegg Duestad was in contention for the medal for a long time.
Photo: Reuters
With the enormous pressure on the most common event, standing shooting, Hegg Duestad was still in the running for a medal.
She started off incredibly well and was in second place after the first round of standing shooting.
But with two fourth places from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, it happened again for Hegg Duestad, who shot somewhat poorly on the last round and receives her third fourth place at the Olympics.
– And then there’s just that frustration that things feel very, very good. I actually have quite a good control over pulse and head. The body is still fully tense. There’s a lot of movement, especially in the calves, which are just standing and pulsing, and I have no chance, says Hegg Duestad.
– It’s not enough at this level
Even though several gold favorites have already been in action in the French capital, Norway is still without a medal in the Olympics.
The margins have not been on the Norwegian shooters’ side at the Olympics in Paris.
In the mixed team competition in 10 meter air rifle, Jon-Hermann Hegg and Jeanette Hegg Duestad missed advancing in the Olympic shooting by the smallest margin.
After the two completed their 60 shots, the team was in what appeared to be a solid fourth place. That would have granted them a spot in a bronze final.
But towards the end, the Germans Maximilian Ulbrich and Anna Janssen delivered their best series of the day, which made them end up with 629.7 points.
That was 0.1 points more than Norway.
0.1 POINT: Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg were just 0.1 points away from a bronze final earlier in the championship.
Photo: Norwegian Shooting Association / NTB
In the individual competition in the 10 meter air rifle, Hegg was 0.2 points away from the final, while Hegg Duestad made it to the final. In the final, it was tough, and Hegg Duestad ended up last of the eight finalists.
Yesterday, Hegg was in the final for the 50 meter rifle. There it started very well for the Norwegian, who led after kneeling and prone shooting.
But with the enormous pressure of standing shooting, he missed the medal opportunities. He ultimately withdrew as the fifth last shooter.
– I do all I can, and it becomes tough in standing, and it’s not enough at this level, said a disappointed Hegg to NRK after the final.
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