Biathlon: Kasper and Emilie Kalkenberg return to Font-Romeu
At the beginning of July, biathlete Emilie Kalkenberg, who retired from the Norwegian federal team in the spring after seven years with the national team, revealed in these columns that she and her younger brother Kasper Kalkenberg had decided to spend a total of ten weeks at altitude in Font-Romeu (Pyrénées-Orientales).
Wednesday sees the start of the Kalkenberg family’s second three-week training camp in the Pyrenees. According to the original plan, this visit to France was to follow participation in the Swedish summer championships in Lima (Sweden) rather than the Blink Festival earlier this month.
In the end, as Emilie Kalkenberg fell ill, only Kasper Kalkenberg – seventh in the super sprint – took part. ” I wanted to be ready and not risk anything before our altitude camp,” the Norwegian biathlete told Nordic Magazine.
“We come here because we want to be well prepared for the competitions that will take place at altitude next winter”.
It has to be said that this course in Romeufont, which runs until 10 September, is an important one for the Scandinavian duo.
We come here because we want to be well prepared for the competitions that will take place at altitude next winter,” explains the 2021 European mixed relay champion. We have to be ready for what we’re going to have to face on the shooting range, which means being more out of breath and slightly slower to react. Timing is crucial in shooting, so these are important experiences to take with us into the winter season!”
“We also feel that we get a lot of benefit from high-volume training at altitude, and Font-Romeu is the ideal place for this type of work,” concludes Emilie Kalkenberg, who has her sights set on the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
