The biathlon carousel is spinning

The news situation from Ukraine remains bleak and is actually getting darker every day. It's difficult to talk about the season in a relaxed manner in the small cosmos of biathlon, which was ultimately more intensely dominated by the Putin attack than one would assume. Finally, the International Biathlon Union (IBU), like many sports associations - unfortunately not all - has excluded Russia and Belarus from competitions. And the Ukrainian athletes had other things on their minds than biathlon. They still fear and fight for their lives. Sprint, pursuit, mass start are far away. Only the Russian bombs with their destructive power are close.

That's why it's touching to see how a wave of solidarity for Ukraine was also made externally visible by all nations in biathlon. Many have also agreed to support Ukrainian athletes in preparing for the next season. As long as the war has ended by then. In any case, next year everything will be different. Not only for the Russian team, but also for the one from Belarus. Unfortunately, at the moment also for Ukraine. The Russian men end the season in sixth place in the national rankings and thus lose a starting place, assuming they are allowed to start again at all, which is out of the question at the moment. Belarus also loses a starting place because they fell from ninth place to 14th place due to the suspension. Italy misses out on further starting places The Italian team benefited from the men's race, as it has six starting places available next year thanks to fifth place being made easier. After Dominik Windisch's resignation, the luxury question arises as to who should take these places. Belarus loses a starting place in the women's category. The Czech Republic has benefited most from this, catapulting itself from eleventh place (four starting places) to fifth place (six starting places), although Dorothea Wierer's failure in the last sprint in Oslo and Lisa Vittozzi's many problems this season have contributed to this for the Czechs made an unusual leap. Just a few more points and the Italian women could have taken six starting positions next season. The young wild ones like Rebecca Passler, Linda Zingerle or Hannah Auchentaller could have benefited from this. Now it remains at five through sixth place as it has been for years.

A mystery this season: LisaVittozzi. © AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO

What is particularly painful and sad is the loss of a starting place for the Ukrainian teams through no fault of their own. The men move down from ninth place to 14th place. The Ukrainian women around the 2014 Olympic champion Julia Dzyma had a similar situation. They also lose a starting place. In this situation, the IBU is called upon. I make an urgent appeal to the responsible officials to adopt the Ukrainian results from the 2020/21 season for the coming season: ninth place for men and fifth place for women. That's the least one could do to send an effective, sporting signal outside of symbolic solidarity. Numerous resignations Nothing is like it used to be anymore. Due to the war against Ukraine launched by Putin, but also due to the start of a new Olympics, because there has always been a wave of resignations at this point every four years. However, it has never been as huge, almost unmanageable, as it is these days. If I try to list everyone now, I have to ask for your indulgence from the start if I have forgotten a name.

No longer there (Ladies First): Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan (USA), Maren Hammerschmidt, Karolin Horchler (Germany), Selina Gasparin (Switzerland), Anais Bescond (France) Elisabeth Högberg, Ingela Andersson (Sweden), Amanda Lightfood (UK), Fuyuko Tachizaki (Japan) and Eva Puskarcikova (Czech Republic). The next few weeks will show whether the list is complete, as some women in particular are still thinking about it, and family planning is also likely to play a role. For the men, it's definitely time for work for Eric Lesser (Germany), Dominik Windisch (Italy), Benjamin Weger, Martin Jäger (Switzerland), Simon Desthieux (France), Leif Nordgreen (USA), Scott Gow (Canada) and Klemen Bauer (Slovenia). . Here too, one or two names could be added. The trainers are also changing The coaching carousel has gained considerable momentum. This is always normal at the end of an Olympic period, but here too the pace is dizzyingly high this time. The contract of Ricco Gross from Germany, who works for Austria, was not extended. Alexander Wolf, also from Germany, quits with the Swiss and goes back to the police school in Bad Endorf as a trainer. However, that was probably already the plan when he was hired two years ago.

And Italy also has to completely reorient itself. The era of Andreas Zingerle, who took part in eight Olympic Games as an athlete and most recently as a coach, is over. He doesn't want to pack any more bags and finally has more time for himself and his family. Since these positions have to be filled, gaps are guaranteed to unexpectedly arise in other nations, so that the merry-go-round will continue to spin quite rapidly for a while. It remains exciting, even when the snow has long since melted and the first flowers are stretching towards the sun. And besides, one thing is absolutely certain: next winter is definitely coming.

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The biathlon carousel is spinning

The end of a season is always the time for an analysis, which was carried out by our columnist Sigi Heinrich, who commented on all races including the one in Beijing for Eurosport. He is faced with a wave of resignations and appeals to the IBU to keep Ukraine's current starting places.

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