At 17, Linn Kazmaier dominates the Nordic Para scene almost at will. The Paralympics winner is the big favorite at the World Cup in Canada, and then she wants to learn from the Norwegians.
Linn Kazmaier’s own dominance is slowly becoming scary. Six wins from eight races in the Nordic World Cup this winter, plus Paralympics gold and four world championship titles: “I always think to myself: Wait a minute, that can’t be right.”says the 17-year-old: “That sounds totally surreal.”
At the Para World Championships for cross-country skiers and biathletes starting on Wednesday in Prince George, Canada, more titles are to be won, after all, Kazmaier is the clear favorite. In fact, the visually impaired student from Nürtingen in Swabia would like the cross-country ski trail to be narrower again in the future. At the moment, she and her teammates Leonie Walter and Johanna Recktenwald mostly fight for places on the podium among themselves.
Rombach: “It won’t be a sure-fire success”
There is a lack of international competition, which is mainly due to the ban on Russian athletes. This is exactly what Kazmaier wants back – purely for sporting reasons. “You always want the best possible competition,” she says, “and it would be nice if the best athletes were there.”
National coach Ralf Rombach doesn’t believe that it will be a sure-fire success for the German starters. Rombach has several competitors on his list who could upset his trio and names, among others, the Austrian Carina Edlinger and the multiple world champion and Paralympics winner Oksana Shyshkova from the Ukraine. The Chinese team also needs to be on the list, said the coach.
Kazmaier is getting faster and faster
But the top favorite is Kazmaier. The two years after the Paralympics in Beijing, in which Kazmaier won four titles and the overall World Cup at the last World Championships in Östersund, have strengthened her self-confidence and she is also making physical progress. Your guide Florian Baumann especially feels this. “The strength comes slowly. I always have to hurry up so that I can get ahead well,” says the student teacher.
Linn Kazmaier with her guide Florian Baumann
Kazmaier wants to go to a sports boarding school in Norway
In order to squeeze every last percentage point out of himself, Kazmaier seeks the advice of the world’s best. She wants to go to Norway next year. Kazmaier has applied for a place at the prestigious NTG sports boarding school in Lillehammer, where the Norwegian top star Tarjei Bö once studied. “I’m hoping for a jump in performance,” says Kazmaier, who is taking a break from school to do this. She only received feedback after the World Cup in Canada. Until then, Kazmaier can still collect one or two more golden points.
Schedule for the World Cup
- Wednesday March 6th: Sprint (7.5 km)
- Thursday March 7th: Individual race (12.5 km)
- Saturday March 9th: Pursuit race (2.4 km for sitting class, 3.6 km for standing classes)
- Sunday, March 10th: Team sprint (4 x 0.8 km for sitting class, 4 x 1.2 km for standing class)
The German squad for the Para Biathlon World Championships
Women with visual impairment
Linn Kazmaier (SZ Römerstein, guide: Florian Baumann), Johanna Recktenwald (Saarland, guide: Pirmin Schlitzer), Leonie Walter (SC St. Peter, guide: Christian Krasman)
Women sitting
Andrea Eskau (USC Magdeburg), Anja Wicker (MTV Stuttgart)
Men with visual impairment
Nico Messinger (Freiburg, Guide: Robin Wunderle), Lennart Volkert (PSV Munich, Guide: Nils Kolb)
Men standing
Alexander Ehler (SV Kirchzarten), Marco Maier (SV Kirchzarten)