The only woman who won a gold medal in three consecutive Olympic Winter Games explains why taking care of her kids was the best rest for her soul and world cup pressure the optimal preparation for her body and competitive spirit.

With the attention of the biathlon world turning to Ruhpolding, things will get more and more complex in the last two world cup weeks before the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Each athlete and team set clear goals and objectives for the season ahead, especially with the Olympic Winter Games are on the schedule. The leaders of the teams and national team coaches plan to participate or skip particular competitions to physically and psychologically rest the athletes. Such tactics are common in the teams where many strong athletes are ready to risk losing world cup points to prepare for the Olympics. Norwegians spring to mind as the most obvious example. I tried not to miss the competition without a good reason, meaning illness, high fever, or injury. There was enough time to recover my body and refresh my soul thanks to taking care of my kids and family in the breaks between the competition trimesters. I am also of the opinion that there is no better training before the Olympics than the world cup competitions. No training conditions can replace the race with the accompanying emotions, stress, and responsibility. And one needs to handle those well for a strong performance at the Olympic Games

My success in PyeongChang was built on positive emotions and an increased self-confidence from consistently strong performance in the world cup. I also felt a great responsibility to the fans, my team, and myself. The desire to win not only in the BMW IBU World Cup but to maintain and increase the form for PyeongChang 2018 often overwhelmed fear and doubts. It was strangely liberating for me to finish only 13th in the sprint as I felt too much pressure from all the expectations that I could win my third consecutive Olympic sprint. I was suddenly aware that I am the favourite, that it is good to be the favourite, and that I love the dynamics of high-stakes competition. And I went on to win a gold in the mass start and silver in the individual and pursuit.

As for the last week, I would like to talk about the athletes who left Oberhof in a yellow bib. Quentin Fillon Maillet proved again that head-to-head battle is his strong side with the third pursuit win in a row. The ability to keep his composure after an early miss and work his way back to the top is the most admirable thing about Quentin. He did so in the pursuit of Hochfilzen for a win and the mass start of Annecy Le Grand Bornand for a second place. His high degree of concentration on the last final standing stages is something everybody can only be jealous of. Marte Olsbu Roeiseland’s emotional victory in the pursuit made me nostalgic. It brought back memories from the 2017/2018 season when I won in the sprint and then flew through the pursuit from start to finish without really being challenged.

Team-wise I think that the improvement of the Russian team stood out in Oberhof. Alexandr Loginov’s sprint victory and very encouraging results from Anton Babikov and Danil Serokhvostov proved that the team worked hard and wise during the Christmas break. With Eduard Latypov, who is capable of a podium finish on any given day, they form a strong team and from which each individual can finish in the Top 10. Russian women likewise hit a positive trend lately. Kristina Reztsova built on her mass start third place from Annecy Le Grand Bornand with strong sprint performance and a single mixed relay win with Babikov. The selection of this mix was excellent.

Looking to Ruhpolding, all big names from the Norwegian team, but Olsbu Roeiseland will skip the week. That leaves more room for Swedish, Belarus, and French squads to strengthen their positions in the Total Score and discipline-related Cup Scores. Hanna and Elvira Oeberg, Hanna Sola and Dzinara Alimbekava can edge closer to Marte. Fillon Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin and Sebastian Samuelsson can extend the distance to the Norwegians. Then let us wait and see who will skip Antholz. Stakes are increasingly high.