interview
DSV talent Julia Tannheimer speaks in the biathlon World Cup special of the winter sports podcast about Franziska Preuß, crazy coaching betting, media hype and their steep ascent to the expanded world top.
Sports show: Your trainer Sverre Olsbu Roiseland has a new hairstyle, to marvel at, among others on Instagram. His head was shaved after Franziska Preuss’ gold medal. Can you tell again how it came about?
Julia Tannheimer: At a meeting he said that he could be cut a bald head when someone gets gold out of the team. After the gold medal we initiated and Franzi came up with the idea that a bald head may be a bit boring, so the trainers have to wear very crazy hairstyles until after the single. Sverre got a flash and a heart shaved. It was very, very funny, yesterday.
Sports show: How is the mood in general in the team?
Tannheimer: The trainers don’t take themselves too seriously, are fun for everyone. It is much more fun to train in such a loose – and yet professional – group.
Sports show: How are medals celebrated in the neighborhood?
Tannheimer: Yesterday (Before this day of rest, note d. Red.) was the first evening we celebrated, because before that, part of the team always had competition the next day. Then it is not celebrated. But yesterday we all sat together with sparkling wine – the athletes with non -alcoholic sparkling wine.
Role model and big sister Franziska Preuss
Sports show: Franziska Preuss is the athlete of the hour, has already collected a complete medal set. How do you experience them here?
Tannheimer: On the one hand, it is a role model, on the other hand like a big sister that shows you how everything works. You go jogging together, she always takes you well, shows how everything works. It is of course better if you get everything from such an outstanding athlete – but at the same time also realizes how down to earth. She is simply a normal person, does not take off in any way.
Have a good laugh: Sverre Olsbu Roiseland (left) and Franzi Preuss
Sports show: Is there something you took from her on a personal level? Possibly to deal with pressure or to be classified correctly?
Tannheimer: I can actually handle pressure pretty well, that doesn’t make me so much. The results too – I don’t look at it often, but rather how they are conditional. That’s why I was with the results, for example yesterday (24. In the persecution, note d. Red.) not so satisfied, even if I am generally satisfied with a 24th place. I can classify that quite well. But if something is difficult for me, I can contact Franzi.
Tannheimer: “Franzi doesn’t see me as a competitor”
Sports show: You are the youngster in the team. How do you like this role?
Tannheimer: I am very glad that Selina Grotian is not much older, not either Johanna Puff. Sure, the coaches take a little more respect for me, even more than on Selina, because she was there last year and it is my first World Cup season.
If the older ones had known each other for many years, I don’t know if I would have found it so well. So we have everything with us, which also makes our harmony in the team. I think it’s also easier because the competitive thinking is not so: Franzi doesn’t see me as a competitor because I am so much younger. I see her as five steps above myself that I have to go in the next few years. So you can be happy for the others.
Sports show: You have not been there for that long in the World Cup. Do you sometimes have to pinch how quickly it all went now?
Tannheimer: Yes, yes. I can’t really believe it. You are just thrown in a bit now, the others naturally help you to handle it well. But if someone had told me that two or three years ago, how fast it was, I wouldn’t have thought in life.
Interviews? “I didn’t want to do it at the beginning”
Sports show: Have you mentally prepared that you lead through mixed zones and interviews?
Tannheimer: I don’t think you can really prepare for it. In Ruhpolding it was quite stressful for me. Simply because it is right after the competition. Sometimes you no longer have time to change at all.
But yes, it will be more normal with every World Cup. It is part of it. In the meantime it works, it’s okay. I don’t do the sport because of the interviews. In the beginning I was really excited, so I didn’t really want to do it. But you get to know the journalists personally, then it is more fun.
Sports show: Your interviews seem very tidy. Do you lie down certain things?
Tannheimer: Yes. Whenever I pick up my sticks and skis before the interviews, I think about: What could I be asked, what could I answer? Because it would be the worst for me if I am in the ARD or ZDF interview and think: Oh god, I don’t even know what to answer. There are always similar questions, I do that that I think about what I can say.
Tannheimer: “Not yet satisfied with my performance”
Sports show: Back to the World Cup. They were 17th in the sprint, in the persecution 24. – How satisfied are they?
Tannheimer: I am satisfied with the results, just not with my performance. The shooting was good in the sprint, but I didn’t feel as I would have liked it as I would have liked to. I think that was also because I had no competition for a long time.
The two mistakes in the back were annoying in the pursuer. Then I repeted a shot and let myself be confused. It was also not so good for runners, even if it was better than in the sprint. That’s why I hope that tomorrow (Individual from 3 p.m., live in the ticker on sportschau.de, note d. Red.) becomes even better.
Sports show: If we look at the upcoming races – the great chance of getting a medal is probably the season of women. Is that something that hangs in the back of your head?
Tannheimer: I don’t even think of the season. After the singles you can start with it, but I always work for races. We don’t even know who the season is running. I want to run a good race and show the coaches that I belong to the season. And then, I think that of course we can go forward if we all call up our performance.
The entire interview with Julia Tannheimer with topics such as the room distribution of the DSV biathlete in Lenzerheide, versatile training in summer and Tannheimer’s favorite subjects at school are available in the complete podcast episode.