As of: February 8, 2024, 2:06 p.m
By: Christoph Klaucke
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The ski hunters have to deliver top performances in the dark at the Biathlon World Championships.
Not an easy task.
Laura Dahlmeier speaks from her own experience.
Nove Mesto – The Biathlon World Championships are in full swing.
At the World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, ski hunters will be faced with an unusual challenge.
The athletes have to navigate the slopes in the dark and hit the targets.
Seven-time world champion Laura Dahlmeier explains the problem.
Biathlon World Cup in the dark: Laura Dahlmeier explains the problem
In Nove Mesto, the majority of the races take place in the dark in the early evening (click here for the broadcast schedule of the Biathlon World Cup).
An unusual situation, as the biathletes almost never compete under floodlights.
“Sure, it’s something special that the races take place in the evening.
It’s unusual for the athletes,” Laura Dahlmeier tells IPPEN.MEDIA, remembering her own career.
“I personally didn't really like it when the races were so late in the evening because you just wait the whole day full of tension and anticipation.
Then it’s a bit difficult to get into the right condition before the competition when the races are so late.”
Laura Dahlmeier knows the difficulty of the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto.
© Axel Kohring/Imago
Dahlmeier's girlfriend Preuß shoots herself in the dark at the Biathlon World Cup
In addition, the biathletes may not feel completely comfortable shooting in the dark.
In the first race in the mixed relay, Franziska Preuß, Dahlmeier's former teammate, had a hard time and had to go into the penalty loop. In the end, the German team ended up in a disappointing fifth place (all results at a glance).
But Dahlmeier doesn't want to use the darkness as an excuse for a possible poor performance: "But I think you can prepare for it, you can prepare for it in training and do intensive units in the evening." The 30-year-old double Olympic champion, who made her first major appearance eleven years ago at the World Cup in Nove Mesto, also makes a comparison: “Other sports show us that it is possible.
You just have to really adjust to it.”
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Laura Dahlmeier also sees advantages at the Biathlon World Cup in the dark
On the other hand, there are not only disadvantages when competing at a late hour, quite the opposite.
“But this can also have the advantage that it is better in terms of climatic conditions because it attracts a little more,” explains Dahlmeier, who also sees a positive effect for the TV market.
“Of course it also has a positive impact on viewers who have more time in the evenings, especially television viewers.”
Already in the run-up to the first race it became clear that this year's Biathlon World Championships would not be a winter sports festival.
One thing is clear for the future: the Biathlon World Championships will not remain an isolated event for Laura Dahlmeier.
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