Julia Tannheimer is one of the German Ski Association’s most promising biathlon talents. Together with the relay, she recently won gold at the youth and junior world championships. In her column, the young athlete looks back on her success.
Take-off in Munich and start into the next biathlon adventure. Our goal: the youth and junior world championships for biathletes in Kazakhstan from March 4th to 12th. After my victory at the Youth Olympic Games in Italy, I am highly motivated and initially not deterred by the long journey. Stopover in Istanbul: the dimensions of the airport are hard to comprehend.
During our five-hour stay in the Turkish capital, my teammates and I enthusiastically explore the various shopping centers that make the airport a veritable temple of consumption before we board our onward flight to Astana.
We touch Kazan soil around 3.30 a.m. local time – our day is gradually getting long and again we have to wait – this time not for a connecting flight, but for other national teams, with whom we are supposed to be shuttled by coach to Hotel Rixos in Shchuchinsk – we reach our Finish in broad daylight, local time 10.30 a.m. – we’re there!
Overcome jet lag, move into your room, unpack your suitcase and finally take a shower. The day is quickly shaped by the day-to-day business of a biathlete. The system is inspected during an inspection, and training takes place later. The routes are selective and suit me, the shooting range is prone to wind – business as usual. That’s why we’re biathletes.
The first competition brings us silver in the mixed team – a great start! In the following single, I actually become a “victim” of the wind, which is not only strong but also constantly turning. Eight tickets take me far from my destination. You can’t dwell on it for long. The mental energy must be reserved for the next competition: the 3×6 km relay.
Julia Kink, Lea Zimmermann and I get down to business and do well in the competition right from the start. Our domain: running. We manage to keep our competitors at a distance from the start. Eleven misses may be a lot, but the distance to our hunters speaks volumes. Julia Kink is the first runner to cross the finish line, a whopping 1:46 minutes behind the Italians – we are world champions!
The atmosphere in the German camp is very good, as we have already won the fifth (!) gold medal at this youth and junior world championships. Back at the hotel, we reward ourselves with a rich buffet, which inspires us anew every evening. In general: we feel very comfortable here in Kazakhstan, the World Championships are organized extremely well by the national association and it’s just fun to collect medals here for Germany.
Best regards
Julia Tannheimer