With the new national coach Tobias Reiter, the German biathlon men should finally attack the front again. The coach also relies on the support of a psychologist.
In preparation for the Olympic season, the DSV team worked closely with psychologist Dr. Tom Kossak from the Bavarian Olympic Base.
“We took him with us to the training camp,” explained Reiter in an interview with “Sport Bild”: “This means that the boys now have a different basis of trust with him and can talk to him as needed during the season.”
The main theme of the collaboration was “to put the horsepower we have on the road.” “We tried to find automatisms for everyone to do this,” emphasized Reiter.
In the summer, special attention was paid to shooting. Reiter “identified some construction sites” there.
“We compared all the leading nations in detail. Last season it was often said that we were too slow at the shooting range. You could tell that the boys were putting a lot of pressure on themselves and putting themselves under stress,” the 40-year-old continued.
However, the analysis showed: “On average, the top six athletes per nation only have a difference of two or three seconds in the shooting time. This message was important for the boys: We are not that far away! So we managed to take some of the stress away.”
“No real strategy” when it comes to time to first shot
There has also been “no real strategy” when it comes to the time until the first shot.
“The goal is: When the boys run into the stand, they know beforehand how they’re going to do it and don’t allow themselves to be distracted by the others left and right. We’ve been too impressed by that so far,” said Reiter, setting out the route.