The Ukrainian biathlon stars have set up a training camp in Germany. Your Slovakian coach Juraj Sanitra faces a mammoth task, because the Russian war of aggression on the homeland of the ski hunters overshadows the preparation.
While bombs are falling and people are dying in southern and eastern Ukraine, Juraj Sanitra, who has been training the Ukrainian biathlon men for six years now, is trying to prepare a small group in Oberhof for the upcoming competitions.
Sanitra had previously called his protégés together in Sianky in the Ukraine, near the Polish border. In the meantime, however, Dmytro Pidruchnyi, Artem Pryma, Bogdan Tsymbal, Anton Dudchenko, Taras Lesiuk, Denys Nasyk and biathlete Darya Blashko have moved on to southern Germany, where the IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships will also take place at the end of August.
“The best Ukrainian biathletes are at completely different levels of preparation,” the national coach gave an insight in an interview on the IBU website. Some would have trained little and would feel it now. “But I can see in their eyes that they are all ready to prepare really well. They have the opportunity to show that Ukraine is a strong and independent country,” said Sanitra, setting the course.
No shot training possible in Ukraine
Nevertheless, the worries in the men’s camp prevail. Dmytro Pidruchnyi, who did military service at the front for a while, revealed: “I only started training again in mid-May and the first units were very difficult. Nevertheless, I’m gradually finding my old level again and getting closer to the other colleagues in the group.”
At home, training is almost unthinkable, as Artem Pryma explained. “I can jog in the streets and work out in the gym, but it’s impossible to roller ski or even practice shooting,” said Pryma, who hails from Chernihiv in northern Kiev.
Sanitra: We’re doing this for Ukraine
The big goal of the Ukrainian biathlon group: The IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding (August 24-28, 2022). This is where the Ukrainians want to show their flag.
“We dedicate our hard work to our fans and the citizens of Ukraine. They should find joy in the success of the biathlon team in these tough shows,” emphasized Coach Sanitra.