Thomas Marchl is one of the most promising young talents in the Austrian team. He won the overall standing in the IBU Junior Cup in the 2025/2026 season and is now dreaming of making his World Cup debut. He has set himself ambitious goals for the coming years.

Thomas Marchl knew from an early age that he wanted to become a competitive athlete. At the age of 13, he had to choose between cross-country skiing and biathlon and moved to a sports school four hours’ train journey away from his hometown of Kuchl.

“Of course, I was very young when I went to boarding school and I first had to learn to take responsibility for myself. But I knew that this was an important step if I wanted to pursue a professional career in biathlon,” explains the 21-year-old.

What was particularly handy for him was that at the sports boarding school, he was not only able to balance his school-leaving exams and training well, but also to undertake an apprenticeship. “I trained as a mechanical engineering technician. I can well imagine working in this profession after my career as a biathlete.”

But his biathlon career has only just begun. In July 2025, he moved to Hochfilzen to join the training group there. His first successes came as early as December: first his debut in the IBU Cup, then victory at the IBU Junior Cup in Goms, and consistent results in Martell. “I’m absolutely delighted with the first half of the season,” says Marchl. 2026 also got off to a good start, with victory in the Madona sprint. “The Junior European Championships in Imatra weren’t easy mentally. I’d been on the podium time and again during the season, but there I had to wait until the very last race, the mass start 60, for a medal.”

A season yielding important lessons for the future

The Junior World Championships in March at the Arber proved to be a minor setback for Thomas Marchl. He was unable to build on his consistent results from earlier in the season; seventh place in the individual was his best finish, and he skipped the sprint. “I was tired during the races at Arber. I’d over-trained during the breaks between competitions, and my body just couldn’t cope anymore. But that’s an important lesson for me for the future,” Marchl explained.

The 2025/2026 season will nevertheless remain a memorable one for him, as his suitcase on the journey home was packed full of three crystal globes. “It came as a surprise to me that I won the overall standings of the IBU Junior Cup, as well as the sprint and individual classifications. I’m very proud of that.” However, he doesn’t place much importance on displaying his trophies. “I gave them to my mum and told her she could do whatever she wanted with them. Now she’s put them on display in the living room,” says Marchl with a wink.

Determined to keep improving

Marchl now wants to improve his shooting this summer – he aims to make it more consistent and faster. “It does happen from time to time that I miss three shots. That’s unnecessary and needs to be improved, especially if I want to be among the frontrunners in the IBU Cup.”

Alongside this goal for the upcoming season, he also wants to fight for a starting place in the World Cup. After the 2028 World Championships on home soil in Hochfilzen, the plan is to head to the 2030 Winter Olympics in France. What does he actually do when he’s not working on his biathlon future? “My friends say I can’t switch off from biathlon, and yes, I think they’re right.”

Photos: IBU I Deubert, Authamayou