Before the World Cup dress rehearsal: The biathletes and “the problem between the ears”

The German biathletes don’t want to know anything about a general problem with shooting less than a month before the World Championships. “The training performance is usually good and there are hits,” said men’s coach Jens Filbrich: “But when the race comes, then the problem is between the ears.” In crucial situations this winter, Philipp Nawrath and Co. simply think too much instead of simply showing their skills. The World Cup dress rehearsal isn’t exactly right.

The shooting range in Antholz, Italy, is considered one of the most difficult in the World Cup. In the sprint on Friday (2.30 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) the favorites come primarily from France and Norway – but can the DSV ski hunters perfect their first individual podium place of the new year? That could be tricky, even if Nawrath says in general: “Everything is possible if we show our best performance. Then we have our chances at the top.”

Nawrath: A lot of excitement at home World Cups

In tenth place, the 31-year-old is the only German in the top ten of the overall standings; at the start of the season he was on the podium once in third place in the sprint in Finland. But especially at the home World Cups in Oberhof and Ruhpolding, the individual competitions all too often didn’t go well. “There is so much excitement in it,” said the Bavarian Nawrath. Nawrath said they wanted to do particularly well in front of tens of thousands of German fans: “You definitely want to show what you can do.” But that often went wrong.

A gap to the world leaders around dominator Johannes Thingnes Bö cannot be argued away before the season’s highlight begins on February 12th in Switzerland. There are only three races left near Antholz before the World Championships. “I see us on the right track, it actually fits quite well,” said Filbrich about the good running form. But if it is not possible to correct the shooting errors, there will hardly be any World Championship medals to be won again. In 2024, Benedikt Doll, who has since retired, won the only bronze in the individual.

Preuss as a role model for men

For the coaches it is “difficult to grasp” what goes wrong when shooting. In the summer, the team shot countless error-free series. It is very unlikely that the pressure in the head will decrease. There are traditionally thousands of German fans in South Tyrol who want to see success; at the World Cup, the special situation doesn’t even need to be mentioned. “We have to bring stability,” demanded ex-cross-country skier Filbrich.

The men can actually see directly from the women how it can work. Above all, Franziska Preuß, who is the clear leader in the overall World Cup, can shine with many impeccable rapid-fire performances. “I’m currently doing a pretty good job of getting the thoughts that confuse you out of my head,” said the 30-year-old. That must also be the goal for the men.

National coach takes risks

In recent years there has been a change of heart among Germans. Head coach Uros Velepec introduced the concept of risk shooting. A modern biathlete is “always better with fast shooting, full risk and full attack,” he said.

The DSV men were previously known as precision shooters. All discs had to be cleared away, the time required was of secondary importance. In a changing sport and driven by many fast shooters from Norway and France, success was very difficult to achieve.

“You certainly haven’t forgotten it mechanically, it’s a story in your head,” said sports director Felix Bitterling. Mental work is also required to create improvements. Or even completely different training. The Thuringian Philipp Horn sat out in Ruhpolding to work intensively on shooting at home in Oberhof under the guidance of former world champion Erik Lesser. Horn is considered a strong runner, but he has too often ruined his better results with penalty laps.

Women’s results as an incentive

“If the Norwegians or Swedes finish better, then we’ll congratulate them fairly,” said Bitterling back in December: “But I have the feeling that we’re giving it to them with this number of mistakes.” This is also why the women should be role models, as they recently won twice in a row in the relay and are opening the Antholz World Cup with their sprint race on Thursday. “The girls’ successes bring a positive mood to the entire team – including the boys,” said Bitterling.