Immense expectations weigh on Selina Grotian’s shoulders. The young biathlete recently won four gold medals at the Junior World Championships. In Oslo she makes her World Cup debut on the big stage.
“Biathlon prodigy“, “Germany’s young hope“, “the new Magdalena Neuner“: All of this has been written about Selina Grotian over the past few weeks and months.”Of course I get that“, says the 18-year-old in bright sunshine in the biathlon stadium in Oslo. “There is also a lot of talk on social media. But I try to hide that.”
Grotian makes her World Cup debut in Oslo
At the famous Holmenkollen, the cradle of Norwegian skiing, the Bavarian will compete in the World Cup for the first time in her career. She earned this through strong performances in the second-rate IBU Cup – where she is the best German. Biathlon experts have known for a long time that there in Mittenwald, in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, under the tutelage of trainer Bernhard Kröll, a woman is growing up who has extraordinary abilities.
Selina Grotian recently provided the proof when it mattered. At the Junior World Championships in Kazakhstan, she won four gold medals, two in the relay and one each in the sprint and pursuit. “I couldn’t have imagined it going any better and I didn’t expect it to turn out so well“, reports the ski hunter. She is modest. No trace of megalomania.
Brother Tim is a great support
She says it has something to do with her surroundings. Grotian started cross-country skiing at the age of six, switching to biathlon three years later – emulating her older brothers. Above all, Tim, who is six years older and became European Junior Champion himself, supports them wherever he can. His advice is valuable. “Tim is a biathlete himself and simply knows what I have to do, even when things don’t go well. So I’m really happy to have such great support behind me.”
Grotian continues to live in her parents’ house in Mittenwald, where she has her own apartment. “The environment is extremely important“, also agrees with sports show expert Arnd Peiffer. “Otherwise, competitive sport is of course an extremely volatile business. When things are going well, everyone says how great you are. When things are going badly, there are many who ask: ‘What’s the matter with you? Why don’t you stop?’ Family and friends are a crucial part of facing all the hustle and bustle.“
Odyssey from Kazakhstan to Oslo
Selina Grotian showed no signs of nervousness of any kind in the first days of Oslo. Her journey from the Junior World Championships in Kazakhstan to Norway’s capital underscores the fact that the newcomer doesn’t let imponderables unsettle her. Small spoiler: The journey should take 30 hours.
“It took us five hours to get to the airport in Kazakhstan. Then the check-in took forever and we flew two hours late“, she outlines the Odyssey.”It was a seven hour flight, then we missed the connection in Frankfurt to Oslo and were there a few more hours at the airport. That was pretty tough.” Grotian reports all this and smiles.
Of course, the trip is still a bit tough, she adds. But she would be able to deal with complications and sporting setbacks quite well. There have not really been many setbacks in the career of the professional customs officer. “The most outstanding strength is their mileage“, arranges Arnd Peiffer. “She can really offer times that are also top level for seniors. This is paired with quite good shooting, which in turn is sometimes changeable.“
“I want to go my own way”
Selina Grotian doesn’t have any real role models, she says. “I want to go my own way“, she adds. Of course, Laura Dahlmeier and Magdalena Neuner come from their area and have impressed the 18-year-old with their great successes in the World Cup, but also at the Olympic Games and World Championships. “Of course it’s unbelievable what the two have achieved“, she explains. “And then I saw Laura more often in training when I was younger.”
Her sporting dream is to take part in the Olympic Games. Olympic champion Arnd Peiffer believes she is capable of that: “The conditions are very good“, he arranges. “But we have had a lot of junior world champions in Germany who didn’t manage to establish themselves in the senior field. I wish she wasn’t one of them. But there are no guarantees.”
Selina Grotian is guaranteed to remember her first World Cup appearance forever. She has never been to Oslo before. Now twice in a very short time. First on the big biathlon stage and then two weeks later on vacation.