Lisa Vittozzi has experienced almost everything in biathlon. However, the successful career of the Italian has not left its mark, as she revealed in an interview.
At 27, Lisa Vittozzi can already boast many successes. In the 2018/19 season, the winter athlete finished second in the overall biathlon world cup. That same winter, Vittozzi was the best individual athlete. The trained policewoman also won bronze in the mixed relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
However, Vittozzi was not able to build on those top performances: last season she did not achieve a podium finish in any individual competition and only finished 31st in the overall ranking.
Vittozzi now explained how tough the sport of biathlon can be in an interview with the world association IBU. “I feel like the cycle that just ended wasn’t exactly positive for me, but it was definitely a lesson for me,” admitted the two-time Olympian.
“I’ve had some very dark days”
“I learned a lot and grew as a person and not just as an athlete,” said Vittozzi. With these insights, Vittozzi would like to embark on a journey towards the 2026 Winter Games in his own country. “Last year I did a lot of mental work, but this year I want to go back to the basics of biathlon. I need to get back to the natural shooting style that I’ve lost in the past few years. Then I’ll be ready,” she explained.
Vittozzi learned “to suffer, but not to give up; to keep fighting for my goals, even when everything seemed to be going wrong”. “I’ve had some very dark days where I hated this sport, but ultimately my passion and determination got me back up and I know I’ll keep going until I reach my goals,” revealed the biathlon champion. Star. Vittozzi would like to pass on the experiences she has made to her teammates.