Yuliia Dzhima misses the start of the Biathlon World Cup. The 2014 Olympic relay champion still has to make up for a lack of training after missing out due to illness.
“Your participation in Östersund is impossible,” Ukrainian women’s national coach Mykola Zots told Suspilne Sport. The new biathlon season starts on November 25th in the Swedish winter sports stronghold.
“Yuliia would of course help us because she is the leader of the team. But if she came to Östersund, there would be a high probability that she could have an unstable season,” said Zots, explaining Dzhima’s forced break.
“There was an interruption in the training process, she has to catch up on everything. There is no time to do the basic work before Östersund,” explained the trainer.
The 33-year-old fell ill during a team meeting in Oberhof as part of the season preparation. “It was more serious than a cold or a mild cold, so she decided to take a longer break. That is, to recover 100 percent and then start work,” biathlon coach Uros Velepets told Suspilne in early November Sports”.
Biathlon: Yuliia Dzhima aims to start in Hochfilzen
Dzhima should now get completely fit. If everything goes according to plan, she could start again at the second World Cup stop in Hochfilzen, Austria (from December 8th).
The Ukrainian took 33rd place in the overall biathlon World Cup last winter. This made Dzhima the best athlete on her team.
Dzhima celebrated her greatest success in biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics. At that time, the ski hunter won the gold medal with the Ukrainian relay ahead of Norway and the Czech Republic.
Dzhima has won two silver and three bronze medals at world championships during her career.