Italy's new biathlon star between World Cup dreams and fan hatred

Until recently, Giacomel only had a top result of seventh place at the start of the 2021 World Cup. Now the newcomer has suddenly broken the knot: he has already finished fifth twice this winter and made it into the top ten a total of five times. A podium finish seems to be only a matter of time, maybe it will happen at the World Championships in Oberhof in two weeks.

In conversation with SportNews The biathlete from the Primiero Valley tells us about his medal dream, he talks about the reasons for his promotion, but also about the haters who suddenly get on his nerves.

Tommaso Giacomel, how much are you enjoying biathlon at the moment? “It’s brutally cool. I never expected myself to be at such a high level. I am very happy with my results.”

What led to the leap in quality? “Training, very hard training. We have really tightened the reins again in the last few months. And then it kind of clicked for me. A knot really came loose and things have gotten easier since then. It all just makes it really fun.” “I won’t beat Johannes Bø any time soon.” Tommaso Giacomel How much is still missing to the very front?

“I won’t beat Johannes Bø anytime soon (laughs). But there's actually not much missing from the podium. If I had made zero mistakes in the sprint in Antholz, I could have made it into the top three. But you can't buy anything in biathlon with ifs and buts. I have to stay error-free at the shooting range and continue to deliver this performance on the cross-country ski trail, then I'll be able to get on the podium. I'm sure."

They speak fluent South Tyrolean dialect. Where do the language skills come from?

“My brother and I were born in Vipiteno, so South Tyrolean has probably been in my blood since the first day of my life (laughs). No seriously: I grew up in Trentino, so not that far from German-speaking countries. Later I attended the sports high school in Mals, where I made friends and acquaintances. Many of my teammates come from South Tyrol, so German sticks in my ears.”

This is one of the reasons why your popularity has skyrocketed throughout the German-speaking world following TV interviews in recent weeks. Are you enjoying this?

"Yes yes. I feel this support and it is important to me. But there are exceptions: I have now also had experiences with hate online and have had to read comments from haters.”

How do you explain this hostility?

“Apparently people are disappointed with my performance or expect more than a top 10 place. I'm popular outside of Italy, especially in Germany. But I have already had to take a lot of criticism in my home country. I have no explanation for this. Perhaps in a country where king football overshadows everything else, sports fans are only superficially interested in biathlon.”

Nevertheless, you are traveling to the World Cup with a big heart. Is a first-time podium finish, i.e. a medal, the goal?

“That would be an absolute dream. I want to be fully involved and will travel to Oberhof with this goal in mind. But that won't be easy. I have to reach my absolute performance limit at exactly the right time. In any case, I will give it my all, I can promise that.”

Here Tommaso Giacomel thanks his fans immediately after his last race at the weekend in Antholz:

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Italy's new biathlon star between World Cup dreams and fan hatred

The young man is on everyone's lips in biathlon, his name is now known to every fan: Tommaso Giacomel is the great whiz kid and is currently establishing himself among the world's best. We conducted an interview with the 22-year-old and talked about a topic that has been bothering him for some time.

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