The 2025/26 biathlon season ended prematurely and with a moment of shock for German hopeful Johanna Puff. For a short time she even considered ending her young career.
Last season was by far the hardest of Johanna Puff’s young biathlon career. When chasing the IBU Cup in Obertilliach, the 23-year-old collapsed during the race. Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) was subsequently diagnosed in hospital. This not only meant the end of the season, but also gave her doubts about continuing her career as a ski hunter.
“I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t thought about ending my career,” revealed Puff in an interview with the specialist portal “xc-ski.de”.
“I could hardly breathe and suffered two panic attacks”
Although her collapse was not foreseeable, it was merely the result of problems that had been building up in the months, weeks and days leading up to it. Even at the altitude training camp in August, she had “hardly any energy” and could only “sleep poorly,” Puff said. Shortly afterwards she suffered a bicycle accident, which resulted in an operation and a forced break of several weeks. Two more colds followed.
The IBU Cup weekend in Obertilliach at the beginning of December was supposed to be her first endurance test. In the pursuit, the third race within four days, her body went on strike. “It was the third race this weekend in Obertilliach, and I barely had any energy in the first two. […] During the pursuit, I had a lot of pressure on my chest, could hardly breathe and suffered two panic attacks,” the DSV athlete remembered the anxious minutes.
The cause of her collapse was not initially found. Puff described the uncertainty as “mentally very stressful”: “The diagnosis was ultimately a relief, even if it meant that the season was over for me.”
Puff wants to compete in international biathlon races again
In February, around two months after her collapse, Puff slowly started training again. When she started jogging, she had the feeling that everyone was overtaking her. “At that point I asked myself: ‘How am I ever going to make it back into competitive sports?'”
Puff has now answered this question for himself, albeit with a small caveat. “Of course I want to take part in international races again, but I’m not putting myself under pressure. What’s most important to me is to regain full confidence in my body. I shouldn’t be afraid to train intensively – otherwise I might give up straight away,” assured the 23-year-old, saying that she wants to listen to her body above all in the future.