Crisis in the biathlon

The athletes’ cry for help must be heard

The home World Cup in Hochfilzen went down the drain for the Austrian biathlon team. The athletes often took the blame, but now there is also quiet criticism that should be listened to. A "Krone" column by Christoph Nister.

The positive aspects of the home World Cup in Hochfilzen first: debutant Anna Andexer was a real ray of hope! Young, authentic, refreshing: the 21-year-old is a hit!

Otherwise, there was nothing for the red-white-red aces to celebrate. Although they shot excellently, they had nothing to report in the cross-country skiing. The men's relay team lost 4:42 (!) minutes in the running time to France, finishing in 17th place out of 19 - behind Poland, Belgium and Kazakhstan. The women had the second-worst time of all teams and were more than three and a half minutes behind the Germans.

Crisis of form? Running deficits? Austria has neither a Johannes Bö nor an Elvira Öberg in its ranks, and some athletes are not yet in top form. But the Austrian cross-country skiers make no secret of this. This explains a certain time deficit, but not the "waddle" that Simon Eder, Anna Gandler and co. have recently received.

If you read between the lines and listen carefully, you can hear a desperate cry for help from the athletes. They have already tried to point out problems internally several times in the past. They have taken the blame externally often enough. In Hochfilzen, criticism of the ski preparation was first heard quietly, but recently it has become louder and louder. The problem: the athletes are simply not being heard!