She has now openly shared her severe mental struggles in recent years: biathlon star Lisa Vittozzi. © Imago / foto2press
Lisa Vittozzi can look back on a successful biathlon season. However, the road there was rocky – she now gave emotional insights.
Milan – It's back! Biathlon ace Lisa Vittozzi has made an impressive comeback this season after a period of less than satisfactory results. Last year, the Italian won the World Cup race in Ruhpolding and triumphed in the overall standings in the individual competition. She also won an outstanding three medals at the World Championships in Oberhof in February. However, she has a long period of suffering behind her: Vittozzi has now revealed serious mental problems.
| Lisa Vittozzi | |
|---|---|
| Born: | February 4, 1995 (aged 28 years), Pieve di Cadore, Italy |
| Discipline: | Biathlon |
| World Cup debut: | 2014/15 at the World Cup race in Östersund |
| Greatest successes: | World Championship gold with the 2023 relay, Olympic bronze with the mixed relay in 2018, 2x individual World Cup winner (2018/19, 2022/23) |
Emotional confession from biathlon ace Vittozzi: she had "a total blackout for two years"
Until 2020, Vittozzi had been part of the world's top biathlon team for many years. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, she finished 16th and 31st in the overall World Cup. Her hit rate in prone shooting also dropped significantly, dropping from 85 percent in the 2018/19 season – when she finished second overall – to 60 percent in 2021/22.
In addition to a Covid illness shortly before the 2020/21 season, severe mental problems were the reason for her sudden drop in performance. Vittozzi has now unpacked this in a guest article on the Italian portal The Owl Post: The Italian had "a total blackout for two years".
Biathlon ace Lisa Vittozzi confessed to having had "a blackout for two years". © Imago / Bildbyran
Biathlon superstar Vittozzi "had panic attacks" after performance slump – criticism of public handling
In particular, the public's treatment of her, which was in a state of low form, had a negative impact on her. Some people around the sport would have said "all sorts of things" to her. "These are things that shape you, that you can't forget, and that stay with you like a hasty judgment," the Italian wrote.
This has taken away her joy in biathlon. "I felt a lot of discomfort about living the sport," Vittozzi confessed. "I was no longer satisfied, I doubted my abilities, I no longer recognized myself." This burden has increasingly been reflected in psychological and physical reactions: "I had panic attacks, and when I think back on them now, I get chills, like a clenching of the chest. As if you were too tense and forgot to breathe," Vittozzi gave shocking insights into her state of health.
Biathlete Vittozzi reached low point at the Olympics: "You can't sink any lower"
The biathlete had thought of taking a break or even ending her career in order to become happy again. "But something told me that it wasn't right, that it was better to suffer to the end. To hit rock bottom." And that's where she arrived at the beginning of 2022 at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
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At that time, Vittozzi only finished 32nd, 36th and 76th in the individual races. Afterwards, however, she heard "a small bell" ringing in her head: "You can't sink any lower, you can only erase everything," she thought to herself after the disappointment in Beijing. This circumstance was painful for the 28-year-old, but at the same time a kind of cure. "Because the sudden realization that the world hadn't ended, that I could really start over, gave me strength and energy."
Mentally challenged biathlon star Vittozzi found support in family: "something that outlives you"
The most important thing for Vittozzi on her way out of her mental hole was "to return home and find exactly what I had left behind every time: a big family that took care of Lisa and nothing else," she wrote gratefully. Her family is "something you don't break and you don't lose even if you try," Vittozzi wrote, adding, "Something that survives your failures, that survives your successes. That survives you."
Her path back into the biathlon elite, which she achieved with her strong last year – Vittozzi won sprint gold at the Summer World Championships in Ruhpolding, among other things – is above all thanks to her loved ones. Her family showed her "that when everything collapses, there is always a way to rebuild it," said the 28-year-old. Last season, she "felt happy, fully realized, and I didn't do anything to hide my feelings," Vittozzi revealed, making her "stronger today than yesterday."
Despite returning: Emotional biathlon ace Vittozzi lives "two lives for the price of one"
But Vittozzi doesn't see himself completely out of the woods. Their world is "divided into two inaccurate halves. On the one hand, the sport, and on the other hand, the home, the family." The biathlete is on this fine line "right in the middle, as if I were living two lives for the price of one," the 28-year-old wrote relentlessly.
But it wasn't just Vittozzi who made his way to this health revelation: ski racing legend and ZDF expert Marco Büchel also recently opened up about his serious illness. (wuc)
