Will there be a profound biathlon revolution?
Athletes disagree
Created: 01/11/2023 12:38 p.m
By: Jan Oeftger
There could be a big change in rifles in biathlon.
However, many current top athletes are clearly opposed to the reform.
Frankfurt – While the Biathlon World Cup starts in Ruhpolding on Wednesday (January 11), a revolution in the sport of biathlon is being discussed.
The trigger for this is a law of the European Union (EU) that could affect the sport.
The law would no longer allow ammunition to be fired outdoors.
The biathletes would then have to switch to laser weapons, as reported
by
fr.de.
The athletes of the currently dominant World Cup nation Norway would like to continue shooting with real guns.
"For my part, they can wait until I retire," said Sturla Holm Laegreid,
NRK's overall World Cup runner-up.
Vetle Sjastad Christiansen, just two places behind his teammate in the World Cup, said: "If they add some Star Wars sounds when we miss and hit, we get closer to it."
Biathlete Johannes Thingnes Bø trusts his current rifle more than laser weapons.
© Darko Bandic/dpa
Biathlon: Dominator Bø doubts reliability of laser rifles
The currently outstanding World Cup leader Johannes Thingnes Bø also has an opinion on the subject.
“I tried laser shooting a bit, but the danger is that the last shot is suddenly four inches away.
I don't think you can always rely on it 100 percent," the Norwegian points out.
A former biathlete, on the other hand, sees the possible change as the logical next step.
"In the past, you shot live pigeons, you don't do that anymore.
Everything that lives changes, so sport must change too,” said Björn Ferry, a former Olympic champion from Sweden at
NRK
.
Daniel Böhm on possible biathlon changes: "We want to make our sport available"
Former German biathlete Daniel Böhm has a different opinion on this: "We want to make our sport accessible and offer young people a nice and safe alternative to laser weapons, but for the elite I see today's weapons as the best alternative".
Böhm now works for the Biathlon World Association IBU.
(yeah)
Meanwhile, the German biathlete Franziska Preuss is still absent due to illness.
She also missed the home World Cup in Ruhpolding
