Biathlon: fond memories of Antholz-Anterselva
The biathlon world championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) kicked off on Wednesday with the mixed relay won by an imperious French team ahead of the surprising Czechs.
The team did not include Lucie Charvatova, world sprint bronze medallist in 2020 in Antholz (Italy). The 32-year-old biathlete will therefore begin her World Championships this Friday afternoon with the sprint, almost five years to the day after the greatest feat of her career. With a 9/10, the Czech managed an unexpected third place.
“During the standing shot, I felt like a real biathlete who doesn’t have a single thought in her head. I don’t know where I shot, how I shot or for how long, but it worked. In the last lap, I realised I had no strength left. So I prayed that I’d make it to the finish line and finally get the medal,” she recalls for iDNES.cz.
And if the silver medal obtained by the Czech Republic in the mixed relay was a good omen for Lucie Charvatova, the idea has certainly crossed her mind. “I remembered on Wednesday that we won a medal in the mixed relay in 2020 and, just after that, I also won it in the sprint. So I thought maybe there was a bit of fate in that. But that’s too much speculation,” she moderates.
“Lately, it seems to me that once I’m shooting, the targets generally don’t fall,” confesses Lucie Charvatova.
For the Czech, whose best result of the season was nineteenth place in the sprint at Le Grand Bornand (Haute-Savoie), the biggest challenge is shooting. This season, she is shooting at just 74% in the recumbent and 54% in the standing.
“I rely on luck, which sometimes swings my way. Lately, it seems that once I’m shooting, the targets don’t usually fall,” says Lucie Charvatova.
What’s more, she’s not particularly fond of the spring weather and the competition is being held in a stadium that she’s finding hard to get used to.
“I really hate racing in high temperatures and on this track. In that case, I’d be rather pessimistic from the start. I’m taking part in Lenzerheide for the second time in my life and I didn’t have much experience of shooting last season [7/10 in the sprint and 12/20 in the pursuit, editor’s note]. You don’t arrive at the shooting range out of breath because it’s after a long descent. So your heart rate isn’t that high. And yet I’m still making stupid mistakes,” she says.
The Czech biathlete will start this afternoon with the number 72, a high number… just like five years ago in Italy when she started with the number 80. Perhaps another sign of destiny for Lucie Charvatova.
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