Per Nilsson nominated for Biathlon Award

Tue, Jun  22, 2010 - By Viktoria Franke

Guiding the U.S. Biathlon Team through the most successful season so far, head coach Per Nilsson was nominated now for the Biathlon Award 2010.

The nominees in the categories athlete female, athlete male, coach and newcomer are chosen every year by the biathlon coaches. Next to the athlete prizes the award for the “Coach of the year” is the most prestigious one, as the trainers chose the best one among their colleagues.

For Per Nilsson the nomination came as a big surprise: “I am off course proud to be nominated. The other nominated coaches have had more success if you looking to medals and podiums for sure” Among the other nominees is his former U.S. colleague Mikael Löfgren who is now working for the Norwegian men’s team.

Löfgren could – just like the other nominees from France, Belorussia and Austria – celebrate Olympic medals in Vancouver 2010. Although they missed the podium in Whistler, the coaches honored the development of the U.S. team by considering Nilsson for the prize which will be awarded during the 2011 World Cup in Ruhpolding.

 “We have had a good progression for the team during my four years here. In the U.S. Biathlon Association we have a goal to work long term and professional and it started to pay off. I also must say that everybody in the staff has worked for this and they all played an important role during that progression”, states the Swedish native Nilsson.

Overall, the award is just a prize that might stand in his bookshelf from next year on. What really counts for him is the team itself: “For me it feels like a great award just to have helped our team and our athletes to a higher level from what we came from four years ago. That’s enough reward for me!”