In five days, Lukas Hofer’s career will come full circle when he steps onto the Olympic starting line in his home Südtirol Arena, where Hofer fired a biathlon rifle for the very first time as a youngster many years ago.

“Childhood dreams coming true”

Hofer’s career is unique, with milestone after milestone all happening in his home stadium. “It is childhood dreams coming true. I believe there are not so many athletes who can say they fixed their first training there with shooting, the first South Tirolean Cup, first Italian Cup, first Italian Championships, first World Cup win, World Championships and now Olympics. I am not sure any other athlete can say they did this…I have done everything possible there and now I can live this experience at home with my friends and family at the place where everything started.”

Thinking about how much has changed at the top of the Antholz Valley in the past 30 years, “I remember exactly how it looked. Antholz was not built up. There was no stadium; on the shooting range, there was a little house with the mats inside, no big construction on the left of the range. I have seen every step of how it grew up. Now, it’s an impressive stadium made for the future. The evolution has been so fast; I never expected that!”

“Not a person who gives up”

The 36-year-old’s road to his fifth Olympic Winter Games was filled with multiple surgeries and injuries that almost derailed his 2026 Olympic dream. “I’m pretty surprised that I made it here. I think I was pretty close to quitting at the 2023 World Championships at Oberhof, after all the troubles with my shins, shoulder tendons and everything. I was thinking my body sent me the final signal: that’s it. But everyone who knows me, knows I love the sport and being outside. For about a month, I was back and forth, always wondering if (quitting) would be a bad decision for my mind. Then I told myself, ‘I am not a person who gives up. I will start up again and the aim is to reach Antholz 26.’”

“Doing something you like”

Hofer’s career, that began with an IBU Cup start in March 2006, spans almost 500 World Cup starts, 13 World Championships, 2 IBU Junior World Championships Gold medals and two Olympic Mixed Relay Bronze medals. “It’s not shocking that it is almost 20 years, it’s just that the time flew. That’s the crazy thing. It’s not the time; I love what I’ve done. It’s clear that when you are doing something that you like, it is easy to pass the time.”

He has vivid memories of anchoring his team to that first Olympic Mixed Relay Bronze medal at Sochi. “I came into the stadium after warming up and not knowing that we were still third, I remember the physio telling me, ‘Now it’s your problem! We are third.’ So, I thought to just do what I could do, nothing extra and finish it. I remember my last shot going down and it was really close. That last 100 meters were amazing. Already on the last loop, everyone, coaches, technicians were all smiling. At the finish line, I saw my teammates celebrating…it was really nice!”

“Locals,” Luki and Doro

Hofer and teammate Dorothea Wierer are the two “locals” competing at Antholz this month. “It’s pretty cool. We both started biathlon the same year, both had same results in juniors (Sprint/Pursuit IBU Junior World Champions). I stepped up a bit earlier, because she was a having more fun than me! Then she stepped up in an impressive way that everybody knows about. We are pretty much the last ones standing from our generation. I think it is nice story.”

“Fun and passion”

Many years after his first steps in biathlon, the veteran biathlete always tells youngsters and their parents, “You have to do it with a lot of fun and passion. You have to enjoy what you are doing at the beginning of the sports career and not step into the professionalism too early. They need to have fun, or they will not have careers as long as Dorothea and me.”

Antholz, Olympic Bib, “Really special”

To this point in Hofer’s career, his 2014 Antholz Sprint win (a tie with Simon Schempp) is his career highlight. “It was pretty special, because it was totally unexpected. Thinking about getting that win at home gives me goosebumps!” February could see an even bigger thrill like, “Winning a medal at home.” At the same time, stepping into that memory-filled stadium, “with an Olympic bib will be something really special.”

A medal-winning day in the Olympics at Antholz would cap a career that started in the same stadium when a little kid fired five shots with an air rifle back in 2001.

Photos: IBU/Manzoni, Wukits, Nordic Focus