When established forces no longer deliver

Not much has happened with the Italian biathlon team so far. Even the previously reliable players like Dorothea Wierer and Lukas Hofer are showing unexpected weaknesses and are ranked beyond 20th in the world rankings. Dominik Windisch didn't even get into the points, which start from 40th place, in five of his six appearances. There are crushing defeats that the team has to cope with. Only Lisa Vittozzi is still keeping up. But nothing more. She is currently ranked 18th in the world rankings. She was once second in the overall World Cup. Wierer has won it twice, is world champion and, with Vittozzi, Hofer and Windisch, a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games. The quartet exuded splendor. There isn't even a faint sparkle left of it.

How great the desperation must be is illustrated by the fact that Federica Sanfilippo from Ridnaun is returning to the World Cup team. She was cut before this season and wasn't in any squad. It also does not appear in the new biathlon guide from the International Biathlon Union (IBU). It was simply no longer there. The fact that she continued to train, often with her friend Dorothea Wierer, now benefits her because the highly praised young talents didn't make it into the elite straight away. It was an experiment that failed. But it's all about biathlon. If the team had to subject itself to the laws of football, it would probably be the coaches' turn. Reason for dismissal: persistent lack of success. That would affect Andreas Zingerle or Markus Fischer in Austria, because three of his women showed a clear decline in running performance compared to last year. In biathlon it's not the coaches' fault Only Lisa-Theresa Hauser, who often trained on her own, is still competitive on the cross-country ski trail. But don't worry: the trainers are firmly in their saddles everywhere. On the one hand, there are hardly any alternatives. And then the financial resources of the associations are not so generous that they could afford to change coaches. And besides, it seems that in biathlon it is never the coach's fault. The defeats are casually passed on to those active who do not perform as expected. At the start of the season, Mark Kirchner, the German head coach, did without the eventual Hochfilzen winner Johannes Kühn, who is currently the best-placed ski hunter on his team despite missing Östersund at the beginning. Kühn was not convincing in the initial tests for this season. Possibly a misjudgment. But you would never admit that. Rather the opposite is the case. A motivational boost is constructed from the absence. It also works like that. In biathlon and other individual sports, the active participants are by far the weakest link in the system.

As in the case of Windisch, it sometimes happens to a world champion who suddenly finds himself in the second-class IBU Cup, of course with wonderful reasons. He should find peace. He shouldn't feel any pressure either because there will be no pursuers after the sprint in Obertilliach. Windisch also meets someone who has to cope with a similar fate to his own. 24-year-old Johannes Dale from Norway lost his place on the World Cup team and is forced to promote himself with outstanding results in the IBU Cup. Dale won his first World Cup race in Hochfilzen last year and is considered an outstanding talent. But he is unlucky that in Norway you are spoiled for choice. The 40 World Cup points he achieved are not enough. Six of his compatriots are ranked ahead of him. If he doesn't at least win in Obertilliach, his chances for the Olympic Games will be gone. At least Windisch will probably be spared that. No matter what the results are in East Tyrol, he should stay in the World Cup team and be given another chance in Oberhof at the beginning of next year. Dale doesn't have that option. IBU Cup is being upgraded After all, the IBU Cup is receiving significantly more attention than is usually the case thanks to the participation of well-known athletes such as Windisch, Dale and his compatriot Erlend Bjoentegaard, who has not yet been given a World Cup appearance this season. Because for some it has long been a matter of being or not being. Some people don't even have that much pressure in the World Cup. The head coaches of all teams can follow everything with calm and composure. In any case, they are fine and seem to be independent of results. No matter what level these come about.

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When established forces no longer deliver

If established forces in the World Cup do not perform as expected, they are simply relegated to the IBU Cup. Our columnist Sigi Heinrich discovered that the responsible trainers and their work are never questioned.

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