German biathletes visiting South Tyrol: “You are a high flyer or a complete idiot”

By Luis Mahlknecht from Martell Germany's men had a more or less similar program in Martell like our colleagues from Switzerland. But things were even more professional and even computer-aided at the shooting range, where the position of the individual athletes was analyzed with millimeter precision. “We aim to always be at the top” National coach Mark Kirchner Mark Kirchner remains in charge of the German biathlon men and describes his state of mind clearly: “We aim to always be at the top.” In doing so, he once again underlines what fans and the media regularly expect from Arnd Peiffer and Co.: podium finishes. Ideal altitude in Martell Kirchner was happy to come to Martell with his troops. After the lockdown, during which everyone trained individually at home, it was the first meeting of the entire team. It is not unusual for the Germans to do this on South Tyrolean soil. Martell is popular with the DSV, junior teams are often in advanced training here, and a stop in the German Cup also takes place here every year. In addition - according to Mark Kirchner - the altitude in Martell is ideal because the 2021 World Cup will also take place in a higher location (Pokljuka in Slovenia). “Early adaptation is an advantage,” says the head coach. Mark Kirchner likes to talk about the “high standards” felt in the German biathlon team. But he also wants the media to give a more differentiated assessment of the achievements: “In Germany you are the high flyer or the complete idiot. If you win, you're on the podium, then it's all just bliss. Anything below that is not valued. But with today’s level of performance, you also have to make people understand that even a tenth or even a twelfth place is still a very good result.” Generational change is coming In addition, the last season made it clear that Norway and France are currently in charge in men's biathlon. “We are also there as the third nation, although we don't have such an extreme high-flyer as a Johanes Bø or a Martin Fourcade, but we are well positioned across the board,” says Kirchner, who goes by the names Peiffer, Doll, Lesser, Kühn, Schempp or finally Horn points out. In addition, he has three – as he describes them – “elevator candidates” who will probably fight for a start in the World Cup – or will otherwise be used in the IBU Cup. Then they would be back in Martell in December... But the head coach knows his most experienced athletes won't be around much longer. He therefore has a clear goal in mind: “I would be happy if I could initiate a positive generational change within the German team.” Mark Kirchner is only partially happy that the 2023 World Cup will take place in his hometown of Oberhof. “It's not like there has to be hype just because we'll have the world title fights at home in three years. We always want to be at the top of our game, be it in Antholz or Pokljuka or wherever. At the moment I feel the opposite, because there is so much construction going on in Oberhof that you constantly have to train on a construction site between piles of earth and excavators. That’s not much fun.”

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German biathletes visiting South Tyrol: “You are a high flyer or a complete idiot”

Martell has become a popular address for biathletes from different countries these days. After Italy's national team and the Swiss, we also paid a visit to the German selection.

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