Lisa Maria Spark is one of the greatest talents in the German biathlon team. In her sport.de column, the 22-year-old writes about her goals and why taking part in the IBU Cup in Sweden was a very special experience for her.
My word for departure is Idre – Idre in Sweden, the first station of the new season, which should bring me further to my big goal, participation in the World Cup.
What a final season that was for me, culminating in the World Junior Championships in Soldier Hollow, which also marked the pinnacle of my young career. In the Canadian snow I was able to pick up a complete set of medals: gold, silver, bronze!
The title of Junior World Champion gave me the wind under my wings in the truest sense of the word, which pushed me even more when I was voted “Junior Athlete of the Year” here in Germany.
In view of those who received this title before me – later Olympic champions and world champions – this award was worth at least as much to me as the world championship title.
I’ve never been more motivated to prepare for the season than this time, full of expectation and joy for the new season, and then Idre came with the first competitions this winter.
Departure from Munich, flight to Oslo, the Norwegian capital, to be from there after a three-hour drive with a jump over the border in Sweden, in a small wooden house with Vanessa Hinz and Janina Hettich-Walz as roommates – World Cup flair in their own four walls!
Biathlon IBU Cup with World Cup flair
World Cup flair also when looking at the list of starters, which in some places read like a small “biathlon who’s who” and gathered some internationally proven forces from the biathlon upper house. So, elbows out, fight, show what you can do.
They were instructive these days in the Swedish provinces. Without going into the individual results at this point and without wanting to give a second sports report, I can say that the days of competition behind me have brought me further, whether through the analysis of what led to a fall in the race or the observation of athletes with World Cup experience other nations – I absorbed everything and, above all, evaluated what I could draw from the situations for myself when it comes to going step by step – with the direction upwards.
I observed the Norwegians in particular and was able to gain valuable impressions when it came to an efficient running style or behavior at the shooting range in order to reduce shooting times. You can’t just learn about yourself or yourself.
Idre was a small door opener to another world and I will now work on enlarging the door gap so that I can finally walk through easily.
Best regards
Lisa Maria Spark