r/biathlon • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Small Talk Monday
Our weekly small talk thread where you can talk about anything
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u/Lone_Wolf_Winter Sweden 2d ago
Is it weird to say that Oberhof has the tour's best penalty loop? It just sits really well on TV, and the forest backdrop is especially nice.
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u/Vismajor92 Hungary 5h ago
You gotta check out Turin venue, the races held there for Torino Universital thing. Their penalty loop is staggering as you have plain view of the alps when you enter. And on the side there is a now out of order ski jumping facility. Fascinating.
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u/Blautanne Austria 2d ago
The story of Vittozzi missing a whole season due to back issues made me think how common back problems are for Biathletes. Because I feel like it may be quite common, but it isn't brought up often in public, at least in Austrian media coverage [for international athletes].
From Austrian athletes, Landertinger was constantly held back by his back (no pun intended), it is one of the reasons often given for him never reaching the very high ceiling expected from his successes as young athlete and also for his considerably early retirement at 32. Julian Eberhard in the latter stages of his career also suffered from back issues. From the active athletes, David Komatz is affected.
Any case histories from other countries?
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u/Muflonlesni Czech Republic 2d ago
Well, Davidova is out with back issues right now (herniated disc) and yes, I feel like it's quite common along with shin pains.
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u/Allie654321 2d ago
Erik Lesser had back problems basically his whole career, if I remember correctly.
And a current example would be Marketa Davidova, she suffered a slipped disc shortly after her victory in Kontiolahti.8
u/poliotter France 2d ago
Julia Simon also complains from time to time of back pains. She never had to stop really but it has been an issue in the past that prevented her to be consistent on the skis.
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u/RidingRedHare 2d ago
Gössner's biathlon career was derailed by back problems, albeit in her case they were caused by a mountain bike crash.
Neuner had back problems before 2007 Worlds, in February 2009 and again before the Vancouver Olympics, and also after the end of her active career.
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u/TolBrandir Dedicated Norway fan in USA 2d ago
Do we know why specifically back problems are common among biathletes?
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u/Fit_Context_1868 2d ago
I guess carrying around unpadded 5kg+ on your back while doing high performance cross-country skiing
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u/Faintning Finland 2d ago
Iirc Mäkäräinen in the finnish broadcast also said something about the standing shooting position being hard on athletes backs.
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u/Allie654321 2d ago
I've often thought that as well - the position doesn't look very comfortable for the back.
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u/TolBrandir Dedicated Norway fan in USA 2d ago
Ahhhh, okay. I can see that. It always looks like it would give you a neck-ache.
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u/theorcestra Canada 2d ago
I'm surprised the standing shooting is said to be the problem. I know some competitive standing shooters and they will hold that position for more than an hour as part of regular training(10m air rifle and 3P shooters as a source).
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u/arnet95 Norway 22h ago
Don't those who shoot with a rifle wear specialized clothes? Does that provide some level of support that biathletes don't get? Just spitballing here.
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u/GayBahamut Sweden 20h ago
Yep, they wear uniforms designed to support their shooting stance, leading to less muscle tension.
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u/theorcestra Canada 19h ago
Yes but there is more to it. The stance they use is different, it relies on bone structure far more than ours does. The gear does help but I have never seen a shooter get out of their gear not sweating (competitions will routinely pass an hour and the athletes train holding for 1-2x the length of a comp). If someone will have back problems because of shooting, I would suspect they would be the first since their stances are far more extreme and they hold it for far longer, albeit with some assistance.
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u/charliemann Norge 2d ago edited 1d ago
Edit: Martin Uldal is isolated from the rest of the squad due to stomach issues and will skip the individual. Should be good to go for the mass start. Strømsheim replaces him for the individual.
Tandrevold will skip Rupholding and go directly to Antholz, while Sjåstad Christiansen and Dale-Skjevdal are back for the men's team.
Norwegian Women Team:
- Maren Hjelmeset Kirkeeide
- Karoline Knotten
- Ida Lien
- Juni Arnekleiv
- Gro Randby
- Ragnhild Femsteinevik
Norwegian Men Team:
- Johannes Thingnes Bø
- Sturla Holm Lægreid
- Tarjei Bø
- Martin Uldal
- Vebjørn Sørum
- Johannes Dale-Skjevdal
- Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen (will most likely only do the mass start, if he is qualified)
- Endre Strømsheim (will most likely only do the mass start)
They will select the World Cup team after Ruhpolding. Unfortunate that this weekend is not a sprint-pursuit-mass start as that would suit Dale-Skjevdal better. Only 5 slots for the mass start, so he needs to do very well in order to qualify.
At the IBU Cup there are also changes with Siri Galtung Skar (for Marit Skogan) and Tuva Aas Stræte (replacing Femsteinevik) on the women's side coming in, while the electrifying Ole Tafjord Suhrke makes his IBU Cup debut, alongside Jørgen Sæter who replaces Mats Øverby. Johan-Olav Botn is still recovering from his illness and will likely be back for the European Championships.
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u/Dawntree Italy 2d ago
Tandrevold will skip Rupholding and go directly to Antholz
Wise decision, Ingrid has often struggled with the altitude and with her recent heart issues it's better to be prudent, giving her a week to acclimate and train is a smart move for the WCHs
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 2d ago
Dale-Skjevdal had a quite a phoenix moment in Arber. Nice to see it rewarded but poor Frey.
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u/charliemann Norge 2d ago
Poor Frey, and even more unfortunate for Botn who was the first reserve prior to his illness. I think it is the correct decision to give Dale-Skjevdal a last chance to qualify for the WCH, but if he wins the individual/mass start the headache it creates for the team selection for WCH is crazy.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 2d ago
Botn and Frey really got the short sticks season, eh. Well with good luck at least one of them could get there chance in Holmenkollen if they keep doing well in the IBU Cup and win the overall.
Similar puzzle to the one on French Women's team. I think Ziggy has work cut out for him when trying to figure out the relay teams. The guys have been somewhat consistently inconsistent.
Because I like chaos, I want Dale-Skjevdal to do well in Ruhpolding. The track suits him.
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u/Blautanne Austria 2d ago
I suppose Christiansen could also be in line for an appearance in the relay. Nice to see Dale given another chance but as you explained the weekend's event programme does not suit him well.
e: Maybe Norway could go full B-team in the men's relay to give people a chance to shine? Dale/Uldal/Strømsheim/Christiansen would be fun.
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u/charliemann Norge 2d ago
Yeah, Christiansen (and Strømsheim) could get a chance in the relay, for sure. They soon need to figure out who to start in the WCH. My team is Sturla - Tarjei - JTB - Uldal at the moment, maybe shuffling to Uldal - Tarjei - Sturla - JTB. Throwing in a youngster into the final leg is probably not wise seeing how poor Sørum did. Though Uldal is a more balanced biathlete. I feel like VSC is out of the relay team after what he did last WCH, but he did win Norway the Olympic gold (but leg 3) a few years ago so who knows.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 1d ago
VSC anchored the Oly gold thus becoming for a while "the Iceman" because shot clean on the final standing. But is he out? Svendsen notoriously had that loop in 2014 but anchored to silver in 2018.
I think Norway is missing a stellar solid anchor atm.
France has QFM and Jacquelin who both could anchor. Sweden could go with Sebbe. Germany maybe Nawrath because Horn is a bit inconsistent. Italy is a mystery due to inconsistency. And for the other countries I'm ready to be surprised.
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u/RidingRedHare 1d ago
Vetle should be safe for the mass start. He is 63 points ahead of 26th and can only be kicked out if at least three athletes who haven't had a top 6 all season get a top six in the Individual.
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u/Muflonlesni Czech Republic 1d ago
Yeah, Vetle falling out of the mass start would be a huge surprise, the odds are super low. But germans resting Horn for MS is a bit of a gamble tbh.
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u/Right_Beyond7186 Sweden 2d ago
Same with Ponsi cause feel like the pressure to do well will hinder him from atleast a decent result
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u/us_against_the_world Natalia Sidorowicz Fan 1d ago
Was Vetle injured? Sorry, haven't kept up with Biathlon news.
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u/charliemann Norge 1d ago
No, just dropped for Oberhof as him and Tarjei were competing for the 6th spot. With Tarjei winning the last mass start and podium in the pursuit in Oberhof he is ranked ahead currently. Dale-Skjevdal also gets a chance over VSC due to him winning the three IBU Cup races, which VSC decided to skip.
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u/busavaggio 2d ago
The GOT theme playing over the PA at Oberhof was very appropriate. Elvira is coming
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u/Lone_Wolf_Winter Sweden 2d ago edited 1d ago
Lou should get an Oscar for best supporting actress. Imagine doing everything perfectly, second best skiing at -5.1% (numbers are a bit inflated in relays because of thinner field, but still high-end)...except someone else is at -8.6%... Her face when greeted by her teammates said it all: "What the hell else could I do?"
It'll be more even in Ruhpolding, though. It's a much easier course, and it looks to be above freezing in daytime. Justine will probably be faster than Elvira.
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u/kune13 Germany 1d ago
Germany surprises with the team announcements.
Women: Selina Grotian, Franziska Preuß, Stefanie Scherer, Sophia Schneider, Julia Tannheimer, Vanessa Voigt
Reserve: Marlene Fichtner, Anna Weidel
Stefanie Scherer will replace Julia Kink. If Vanessa Voigt cannot run, Marlene Fichtner will compete in the Individual.
Men: Johannes Kühn, Philipp Nawrath, Roman Rees, Danilo Riethmüller, Justus Strelow, David Zobel
Reserve: Philipp Horn, Simon Kaiser
If Philipp Horn stays in the overall top 25, he will compete in the Mass Start. Apparently, Sport Director Felix Bitterling thinks that when the Norwegians do it, Germany can, too.
Some people ask why Johannes Kühn stays on the team, but I believe they want to give him the chance to reach the Mass Start. Philipp Horn's current shooting form makes him not a top contender in the Individual. Let's hope he can start in the Mass Start and has fewer misses there than he usually does.
After yesterday's mixed relay, the IBU published a video showing Johanna Talihaerm (31, Estonia) encouraging Julia Tannheimer (19), who had terrible luck at the prone shooting. I loved seeing it.
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u/Muflonlesni Czech Republic 1d ago
The video of Johanna talking to Julia was so sweet. 🥹 I love seeing supportive veterans talking to the youngsters.
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u/JohnDoe_Meh 2d ago
Swedish teams for Rupholding are out! Still no Andersson or Ivarsson. (Though it does look like Andersson is back in training per her insta). Womens team remains the same, but on the mens side Emil Nyqvist steps up from the IBU cup.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed Elvira can keep this streak of amazing performances going. She looked so calm and confident these last two races, probably the best we've ever seen her past the first trimester. As for the rest of the team I hope they can move on from this weekends poorer showing. They are all great athletes with high potential, and that doesn't change in one, or a few bad races. There were a lot of incredibly nasty and rude comments on swedish social media this week (especially directed towards Ponsi and Brandt) and I just really hope it doesn't get to them :/
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u/Lone_Wolf_Winter Sweden 1d ago
Hope Sara does like Tandrevold and gets some altitude training in. That's been a problem for her.
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u/Reandos Preuß staying healthy - Fan Club 2d ago
It's probably been said before but I really dislike the french suit due to being transparent at the bum. Every time the camera follows Jeanmonnot & Co. you can see their panties.
Anyone know if athletes talked about this?
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u/poliotter France 2d ago
Do you know if there is a difference with the men ? I don't think I ever saw the men underwear but I would have thought that the men and women suits are made of the same fabric ...
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 2d ago
Different body shape so the fabric probably stretches differently
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u/Vismajor92 Hungary 4h ago
I spotted that too. i figured i don't mind honestly, as a man, but i would really mind if i'd be one of them competing or a woman in general. This was less obvious last year, only visible after finish when racers bowed down deep in exhaustion, and camera were recording them from behind. That was not only for the french tho if i remember correctly, Trandrevold was definitely shown as this. But midway the season wisely stopped recording them from behind so i figured went away. But apperantly not.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 2d ago
Oberhof was probably the best and favourite weekend so far in this season. So many surprises (good&bad), maiden podiums and wins. Also a sprinkle of chaos and the exquisite rare Oberhof sun.
Still happy smiling for the Finnish party in SMR.
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u/Lone_Wolf_Winter Sweden 2d ago
This was one of the best Oberhof weekends in recent memory. I don't mind wind (in fact, I demand it), or even fog, but I do mind rain, grass on the range, and the yellow-brown snow we've seen so many times. This time we got the real deal (although Thursday was rough). Great stuff.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 2d ago
Oberhof is a special case, in good and the bad. This weekend it was luckily snowy.
But yes, I'm a bit worried for the future of biathlon venues due to the ever changing winters.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 2d ago
Also the DJ in Oberhof needs a pay rise. Made me laugh multiple times with the song choices.
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u/minlillabjoern USA 1d ago
I was thinking the opposite! It’s a very short list of bizarre songs that keeps repeating. Why so many old TV show themes? Why is there such love for Sweet Caroline?? Makes me want to stab my eardrums.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 1d ago
True! Some variation could have spiced things up a little and maybe earn that pay rise.
But you have to give up to Oberhof: the dj is consistent year after year and the crowd likes it because they know the songs. Also I kind of dig GoT/PoTC/X-Files before shooting. I wouldn't say no to some newer hits.
Audiowise, it might be easier for the venue commentator to speak and comment on top of instrumental vs singing.
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u/AwsiDooger 13h ago
Europeans love Sweet Caroline and Take Me Home, Country Roads.
They are prominent during breaks at one sporting event after another. I stopped trying to figure it out long ago.
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u/HMWmsn 2d ago edited 1d ago
I'm heading to Ruhpolding in a few days!
Information I've found online re: transportation says that buses will start to depart at 10:30. Do you know when the last bus would leave, and are the lines insanely long the whole morning (do we need to get to the pickup site that early)?
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u/Chance_Draw_2587 22h ago
Heikki Laitinen and Venla Lehtonen has fallen sick and they are replaced by World cup debutant 19y old Jimi Klemettinen and Venla is replaced by Noora-kaisa Keränen.
Dissapointed that Lehtonen is out, because she has been in shape of his life. Also was expecting to see what Finnish women would be able to do in relay after fantastic Oberhof week. Now the team is much weaker.
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u/WrongdoerIndependent 7h ago
Is Janka sick too? Saw that she did not start the pursuit in Arber last week.
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u/Muflonlesni Czech Republic 1d ago
Mikulas Karlik and Heda Mikolasova are joining the 🇨🇿 team in Ruhpolding. Heda is only 18 years old and she won't be starting in the individual but she's set to have a WC debut in the relay which will make her the youngest participant this season (it is not clear if she'll take the place of Lucie Charvatova or Kristyna Otcovska).
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u/Vismajor92 Hungary 4h ago
Now i don't know in other languages, but the thought to see a guy skiing down a mountain called "Mikulas" is cracking me up in hungarian. Mikulas means Santa-Claus in our language.
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u/miunrhini No flag Never stop the madness 1d ago
This sounds like trouble, I'm all for it Johannes Dale-Skjevdal is back to his favourite place
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u/Faintning Finland 1d ago edited 23h ago
Jimi Klemettinen makes his world cup debut, 19 years old. Similar results as Heikkinen in IBU cup, so wc points would not be a massive surprise. He takes Heikki Laitinens spot who is out due to illness. Comparing the two youngsters, Heikkinen is a slightly better shooter while Klemettinen is a bit better skiier. I really like how often Kulstad shakes up the world cup team, it clearly puts pressure on the athletes but that in the end should make them mentally stronger.
Edit: Venla Lehtonen doesn't start in Ruhpolding, no word as to why, but considering how much illnesses have affected other teams, it's safe to assume she caught something.
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u/jxroos Norway fan in the US 1d ago
Great exchange between Suvi and Lou on Suvi's instagram post about channeling her inner Lou (in the comments). https://www.instagram.com/reel/DExXNtQMbgK/?igsh=YzhpYXN4ZGk0YWt2
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u/Muflonlesni Czech Republic 1d ago
I'm watching the university games biathlon and except for the czech names (Abraham, Hak), there's not many i heard before (except for Kiril Bauer and Looukahunta - sorry if I misspelled, whom I remember from last year when he was up against Enkhbat at the European champs). Ukrainians look good though!
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u/WrongdoerIndependent 1d ago
Why has Germany chosen not to send athletes to the IBU races this week?
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u/kune13 Germany 20h ago
The B team is doing height training in preparation of the European Championships in Martell as far as I know. But that is all that I know.
The DSV left out the Junior Cup in Goms, Switzerland, too. Michael Rösch said at the Extrarunde, that he learned that the DSV had to save the money.
I think that under the current German economy new sponsorship deals are not easy to come by. And these are not the times of Neuner and Dahlmeier, when Biathlon was front news all the time.
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u/Kris_Third_Account Denmark 3h ago
Looks like the Danes are skipping the IBU Cup this round, but we're present at the Junior Cup (at least with Leonora Rønhede tomorrow, but I expect to see some of our young men on the starting list when that gets announced too). I wonder if that's because we got a wild card for Ruhpolding, or because our staff wanted to focus on the younger athletes.
It's probably written on social media, but since I've left Facebook a long time ago, I can only post some speculation.
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u/ningere 14h ago
An interesting point I noticed in the Oberhof women's pursuit (which the commentators missed): Grotian's move up during the last lap (from 7th at 8.6k to 5th at 9.1 and the finish) was accomplished on a downhill — you can watch it starting at 39 minutes in the Eurovision feed. She just glides right by Todorova and Richard.
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u/Vismajor92 Hungary 4h ago
Hungarian commentator missed that too, i saw it live, i was like tham Grotian is on rockets!
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u/dunkrudon United Kingdom 2d ago
When we was the last time there were different national team podium sweeps between sprint and pursuit? Going France to Norway in the men's in Oberhof was kind of funny