Kristin Stoermer Steira (NOR) will never forget the Olympic medal she lost in a photo finish in Vancouver 2010. Her foot just wasn’t long enough. It won’t happen in Sotchi this winter, Steira says to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
Back in 2010, Steira narrowly lost the bronze medal in the women’s 15-kilometer duathlon to Justyna Kowalczyk. And Steira doesn’t feel like another fourth place. She’s got a whole bucket full of fourth places, even though she’s quite proud of some of them.
Steira has trained efficiently this fall, stayed healthy and injury-free. And she has learned from the photo finish in 2010.
“Everybody is specifically working on how to cross the finish line, and everyone is working on speed. In both the pursuit and the 30-kilometer, you need that little extra sprint finish,” says Steira’s coach Roar Hjelmeseth.
As for Steira, her number one goal for the 2014 Olympics is clear.
“I just so badly want an individual Olympic medal. I’m at the tail end of my career, and I’m very motivated to get the most out of this Olympics. I feel like it’s now or never. Everything has been so good this fall, and I feel so motivated,” says Steira, who won the pre-Olympics in Sotchi last winter.