The two-time biathlon world champion Lisa Vittozzi thanks Franziska Preuss for the support during the season preparation.
“In Ruhpolding I trained with Franzi, which was super available,” revealed Lisa Vittozzi in an interview with the International Biathlon Association IBU.
“We had a lot of fun and it was really nice. In addition, she wrote me several times in winter to ask how I was, and that really meant a lot to me,” enthused the overall World Cup winner from 2023/24 about working with her successor.
Top sport is “very competitive and usually there are not many sensitive people in it, but they [Franziska Preuß] It was definitely towards me, and I really felt that. But she wasn’t the only one – for example, was Ingrid [Landmark Tandrevold] Super nice, “said Vittozzi.
“How boring is biathlon without me?”
The Italian ski hunter had completely missed the past biathlon season due to back problems.
The races were “very difficult”, Vittozzi revealed. “To be honest, I didn’t really look at her. Okay, maybe a couple, but honestly … how boring is biathlon without me?” Said the two -time world champion with a wink.
Now the 30-year-old is working intensively on her comeback. With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (February 6th to 22nd), a big highlight is waiting in the upcoming biathlon season.
“The Olympic Games are generally a great goal, they give a athlete a lot of energy and motivation. If they take place in their own country, it gives an additional thrust to give everything. And last winter it was exactly the same for me. I have to be honest – I don’t know what I would have done if the Olympic Games hadn’t been at the door. But I like to think that everything was happening for a certain reason.