10 days left until Sochi: The South Tyrolean biathletes

They definitely want to do better than they did four years ago in Vancouver. That should be within the realm of possibility, especially since Lukas Hofer and Co. have made it to the absolute top of the world several times in the recent past. Of the ten “Azzurri” called up, South Tyrol makes up the majority of the Italian Olympic squad with eight athletes - four men and four women.

The men:

Luke Hofer: Lukas Hofer is undoubtedly the great hope of the Italian biathlon team. This made people sit up and take notice with his first World Cup victory in the last race before the Olympics. In the rousing sprint in front of his home crowd in Antholz, the 24-year-old from Montal showed his full class and once again underlined that he will also be a force to be reckoned with in Sochi. Especially since Hofer's characteristics fit perfectly with the route in Russia. In Vancouver, the Pusterer achieved his best Olympic result to date with twelfth place in the relay.

Dominik Windisch: While Hofer already has experience at the Olympic Games, Dominik Windisch will be taking part in the major winter sports event for the first time. It is difficult to make a prognosis for the speedster, as he was recently out of action due to a long-term flu. That's why he didn't start at the last World Cup races. But one thing is certain: the track in Sochi suits the 24-year-old. There he achieved his best World Cup result last year with fifth place in the sprint.

Markus Windisch: Dominik's brother, who is five years older, has a career-best individual result of sixth place in the sprint at the World Cup in Presque Isle in February 2011. In January of the following year he climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time in the relay in Oberhof together with his brother, Hofer and Christian De Lorenzi. The 29-year-old Rasner's best result at the Winter Olympics so far is a 32nd place in the individual competition in Vancouver 2010.

Daniel Taschler: After a season in the IBU Cup, Daniel Taschler has fought his way back and now has his chance at the Winter Olympics. In Sochi, the Pusterer will try to repeat his strong performance from the relay competition at the World Cup in Antholz, where he showed that he can definitely keep up with the top teams. The 26-year-old from Antholz had to worry about his Olympic ticket until the end. In the end, the coaches decided in favor of him.

The ladies:

Dorothea Wierer: In the women's category, the 23-year-old racer is number one in the Italian national biathlon team this season. The three-time junior world champion started her season with an excellent eighth place in the individual competition in Östersund, came ninth in the World Cup sprint in Oberhof and also impressed in the following World Cup stages. With a little luck on the shooting range, “Doro” could even cause a big surprise at her first Winter Olympics.

Karin Oberhofer: In addition to Wierer, Karin Oberhofer also showed a strong performance at the World Cup opener in Östersund. With ninth place in the individual competition, the woman from Feldthurn achieved her third top ten individual result in the World Cup after seventh place in the mass start in Oslo (best career result) and eighth place in the sprint in Antholz last year. At her first Winter Olympics, four years ago in Vancouver, the 28-year-old from Eisacktal reached eleventh place in the relay.

Michela Ponza: The 34-year-old from Val Gardena is one of the veterans in the Italian biathlon team. She celebrated her last major success of her long career at the 2013 World Championships in Nove Mesto, where she won the bronze medal in the relay together with Wierer, Oberhofer and Nicole Gontier. In addition, the biathlete from St. Christina can boast an excellent fifth place in the pursuit at the Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006.

Alexia Runggaldier: Alexia Runggaldier will also be taking part in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. For the Val Gardena native, who was born in 1991, these are the first Winter Games in her young career. At international level, the 22-year-old from St. Christina has a 28th place as her best World Cup result and a 37th place as her best World Cup result.

The sports facility :

The Laura Cross Country & Biathlon Center is located high on the ridge and slopes of the Psekhako mountain range, ten kilometers northeast of the mountain region's other competition venues in Krasnaya Polyana. It includes two stadiums - one for biathlon competitions and another for cross-country skiing - with spectator stands at the start and finish. There is space for around 7500 spectators in the stands.

The Olympic program for biathletes:

Saturday, February 8th – Sprint Men’s 10km – 15:30 p.m Sunday, February 9th – Women’s Sprint 7,5 km – 15:30 p.m Monday, February 10th – Men’s Pursuit 12,5 km – 16 p.m Tuesday, 11. February – Women’s Pursuit 10km – 16pm Thursday, February 13th – Men’s Individual Competition 20 km – 15 p.m Friday, February 14th – Women’s Individual Competition 15 km – 15 p.m Sunday, February 16th – Mass Start Men’s 15km – 16pm Monday, February 17th – Women’s mass start 12,5 km – 16 p.m Wednesday, February 19th – Mixed Relay – 15:30 p.m Friday, February 21st – Women’s 4x6 km relay – 15:30 p.m Saturday, February 22nd – Men’s 4x7,5km Relay – 15:30 p.m

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10 days left until Sochi: The South Tyrolean biathletes

In exactly ten days the XXII. Olympic Winter Games open in Sochi. We are using the time until then to introduce our readers to the South Tyrolean participants in the individual disciplines in more detail every day. First we will focus on the biathletes.

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