From February 7th, Germany’s biathlon stars will start the World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Which race exactly which athlete will be used in is an open question – and even for the athletes themselves it is still a mystery, as Justus Strelow reveals in his sport.de column.
Three-two-one, and go! I’m sitting excitedly in front of the computer at home with my fiancée Elli.
I stretch my index finger and carefully place it on the keyboard. “Should I?” I whisper to Elli. She gives me a quick look that I can classify: “You’re welcome, Justus, we’ve made all the preparations.” So my finger now applies the necessary pressure to the key and then there’s no turning back – like firing a shot in competition. If you have the goal firmly in your sights, your finger at the stop, then you have to move on quickly and courageously.
Over the past few weeks and months, Elli and I have repeatedly used the little time left between competitions or after training sessions to push forward with my latest project: our own homepage! Although I already had channels on Facebook or Instagram, I also really wanted a business card on the Internet where biathlon fans could get up to date with me, browse photo galleries or read the current edition of this column. Elli was the driving force behind the conception, programming and writing of my first website on the internet. I couldn’t have done it without her.
Three-two-one and go. Now I press the button and confirm Go Live: www.justusstrelow.de is online! Elli and I are beaming.
Biathlon World Cup 2024: “Spoiled for choice” in the German team
Happy and full of confidence, I traveled to the training camp in Ridnaun the next day. After a week at home with long, extensive sessions, I’ve been sharpening my World Championship form since Tuesday in South Tyrol. With Danilo Riethmüller we have a total of eight German biathletes who meet the standard and definitely a powerful team.
But what exactly the operational concept for Nove Mesto looks like will only become clear in the coming days. Those responsible are spoiled for choice – I’m still in the dark myself. However, I am not assuming that I will run all the races in Nove Mesto.
That wouldn’t be smart either because it would simply put too much strain on me. I’m much better off if I just go into individual races refreshed and rested and then start at the start in top form.
You can find out exactly how things are going for me towards the World Cup in this column – and of course also on my new homepage.
Justus Strelow