“It wasn’t easy being constantly compared to Doro”

The farewell couldn't have been nicer. Last Saturday, Magdalena Wierer took second place in the sprint competition of the Summer Italian Championships in the youth category. Behind her good friend Linda Zingerle, who won the race. On the same day as her sister Dorothea, who was 11 years older, won the title in the “big ones”. And all of this in her home valley of Antholz and in front of her family. “Yes, it was really a special day,” says Magdalena looking back. A short-term decision “Magda” has no longer been a biathlete since Saturday evening. And so the faint hope of some fans that after the Doro era - which will probably come to an end in the foreseeable future - a new Wierer will provide brilliant South Tyrolean moments on the big biathlon stage has been dashed. “I had my doubts last season,” admits the 19-year-old, whose birthday is next Friday. “I've been sick a lot over the last few years and lost a lot of training. At some point I realized that I was just too far away from the others in the category. After last season, I asked myself whether it was still worth it – especially because I’m not part of any sports groups.”

Magdalena Wierer in action.

Nevertheless, Magdalena Wierer trained properly again this summer. “I was very motivated, trained well and had a lot of fun. Nevertheless, I said to myself: If I had a good competition at the Italian Championships, then that would be it for me. On Friday I decided that I would stop on Saturday. I started the race with a lot of joy, the finish was special,” explains the young athlete, who graduated from the sports high school in Mals last year. “My gut feeling told me it was the right decision.” Magdalena Wierer Her sister Dorothea welcomed her at the finish. "She asked me: 'Now you've had such a good race and you've always put in so much effort, do you really want to give it up?' But my gut feeling told me that it was the right decision,” says Magdalena. Looking back, it was both a blessing and a curse for her to be the little sister of the most successful South Tyrolean biathlete of all time. “I was compared to her a lot, which wasn’t easy, especially at the beginning of high school. I was always watched and looked at very closely, and I had to come to terms with that.” The body didn't cooperate But the body also contributed to the fact that it wasn't enough for a breakthrough. “In the first grade of high school I had Pfeiffer's glandular fever, the after-effects of which I felt for three years. In winter I was always sick for a week and healthy for two. I lost a lot there.”

Nevertheless, Wierer, who was mainly involved in the Italian Cup races last year, looks back on her time as a biathlete with joy, as the sport has given her a lot. Now a new chapter begins for the almost 20-year-old. “I would like to stay active with cross-country skiing and do some fun runs. I would also like to start studying online. Sports would be my favorite, but I'm still a bit undecided. “Now I’m going to work for my parents, who have a restaurant in Bruneck,” says the young Antholzer, giving a look into the future.

Magdalena Wierer in the Südtirol Arena in Antholz.

By the way: Magdalena Wierer has followed in her big sister's footsteps a little bit. She has more than 40.000 fans on social media, more than many World Cup winners. She will continue to provide her followers with snapshots on social networks - but without a biathlon carabiner.

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“It wasn’t easy being constantly compared to Doro”

Dorothea Wierer made an impressive comeback with a victory at the Summer Italian Championships in Antholz on Saturday. But there remains a downer because her younger sister said goodbye to the biathlon stage that day.

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