Biathlon tragedy in Ruhpolding threatened: Herrmann-Wick "bleeds the heart"
Created: 2023-01-09 15:34
By: Johannes Skiba
The Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding on Wednesday (January 11) will take place at around eight degrees.
Snow from the previous year must remedy the situation.
Ruhpolding – The sport of biathlon faces a huge challenge in the future.
The above-average temperatures in the winter months have a profound impact on winter sports.
In Ruhpolding, the stored snow from the previous year will be brought onto the track for the World Cup from Wednesday (January 11).
Whether the competition can take place at all depends on the weather over the next few days.
"It's really bad, my heart bleeds when I'm there and see how nature is just waking up as if it were already spring," Olympic champion Denise Herrmann-Wick told
dpa.
“We are all trembling and looking forward to the home World Cup.
We hope that the conditions are cool, but it looks really sad.” The rain in Ruhpolding is expected to continue, and it will also be up to eight degrees warm.
According to the IBU, the race should not be in danger.
The German biathlete Denise Hermann-Wick in a race.
© Medvey/imago
Opportunities to do winter sports are dwindling in Central Europe
This problem will occur more frequently and in more and more places in the coming years.
Climate researcher Werner Aeschbach from the Institute for Environmental Physics in Heidelberg tells the
dpa
: "The areas where there is snow security are becoming less" and adds: "In 2000 meters there will still be a lot of snow.
But below 1000 meters there is no longer this security in the medium term.”
It's getting harder to do winter sports in Central Europe.
Biathlete Roman Rees does not leave this indifferent: "It concerns me because I notice that something is changing." For the 29-year-old, these changes are not a phenomenon that only came to light this season: "Even when I was four years old looking back, I realize something is wrong with winter.”
Biathlon training not possible in many places
Even the training opportunities are no longer available for many biathletes.
It was not possible to prepare for the World Cup in Ruhpolding itself.
It was also too warm in Oberhof, where the World Cup is scheduled to take place in about a month.
In view of the bad form of the DSV team, these bad general conditions come at an equally bad time.
(jsk)
