Who ended his career?
Before you start talking about the upcoming season in the women's biathlon, it is worth remembering which of the famous athletes decided to end their careers and will no longer play in the new World Cup. And the losses for the world biathlon turned out to be very serious - it’s enough to say that three girls left the sport, who in total have five Olympic gold medals and two Big Crystal Globes.
The World Cup will remain an unconquered peak for Anastasia Kuzmina. After moving from Russia to Slovakia, she won everything that is possible, but could not finish the season on the first line of the overall standings. Although even in her last year in sports, Anton Shipulin's sister was close to this - she won the most races, but lost 34 points to Dorothea Wierer from Italy. Third place in the ranking did not convince the 35-year-old biathlete to fight further, and she followed her brother in a career.
The biathlon community will empty out without Laura Dahlmeier. The German biathlete quite unexpectedly announced her retirement at the age of 25, when she only won two bronzes at the World Championships and became the 12th in the World Cup, having missed nine races. Now Dahlmeier enjoys outdoor activities and is engaged in literature - in October her first book on ecology was published. The German will hold her last start as part of the Christmas race in December.
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Publication by Laura_Dahlmeier (@laura_dahlmeier) Nov 16, 2019 at 12:25 PST
Gabriela Koukalova last went to the start in the spring of 2017, after which she began to skip season after season for health reasons. In the end, she decided not to give false hope to the fans and in the offseason announced that she was also giving way to young athletes, although in fact she had done this much earlier.
Who is the favorite of the season?
In the absence of Kuzmina and Dahlmeier in the new World Cup, fans will surely have to wait for surprises, because someone will now have to take their place in the elite of the world biathlon. But first of all, their departure should have a positive effect on Virer's chances to defend the title of the best biathlete in the world.
The Italian athlete has long walked towards her “Big Crystal Globe” and last season achieved her goal thanks to a brilliant start. In the first seven personal races, she won six medals, and this stock was enough to maintain leadership until the end of the season. Wierer later won victories at home in Anterselva and at the World Championships in Ostersund, which was absolutely necessary in order to restrain his compatriot Lisa Wittozzi. The 24-year-old athlete spent the past season incredibly hard, betting on accuracy, and took second place in the overall standings after Wierer.
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Posted by ᴰᴼᴿᴼᵀᴴᴱᴬ ᵂᴵᴱᴿᴱᴿ ️️ (@dorothea_wierer) Nov 18, 2019 at 5:43 am PST
Female biathlon taught that almost no one can stay in it for a long time. The Italian duo will first need to prepare for the home world championship in Anterselva, and Swede Hannah Eberg has every chance to compete for the World Cup.
By and large, the Olympic champion Pyeongchang in the individual race was to win the Big Crystal Globe a year ago. Eberg ended up above Wierer and Wittozzi on average points scored for the race. But due to illness, the 24-year-old Swede missed several races, and then obeyed the decision of coach Wolfgang Pichler, who did not want to send the team to the North American stages. If Eberg performs again as stably, he will definitely rise above the fifth place that he took last season.
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Publication by Hanna Öberg (@hannaaoberg) Nov 5, 2019 at 5:14 am PST
Another opening of the previous World Cup was Marte Olsby-Royselann. She took the first place in her team, having squeezed Tiril Eckhoff, won three personal races and became the three-time world champion in relay races. Before, Olsby-Royceland was not so strong. Preparations for this season were spoiled by illnesses and skipping fees, so her chances of winning decreased, but closer to the January stages she would have to reach the peak of form.
You should not discount the main veteran of the female biathlon Kaisu Mäkäräinen. Last season, she was the only one to impose the Wierer fight at the starting stages, but still could not stand such a sharp start and then retreated. Before the start of the new biathlon year, Mäkäräinen became the best in the control competitions in Finland, where she beat the entire Russian team. The 36-year-old biathlete won three times in the overall World Cup standings, and yet another success is not an end in itself for her, but if young athletes give a chance, Mäkäräinen can take advantage of it.
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Publication by Kaisa Mäkäräinen (@kaisamakarainen) Nov 12, 2019 at 3:32 PST
Who should I pay attention to?
The main rising star of the female biathlon is Czech Market Davidov. In the spring of 2018, she won the Junior World Championships, after which she spent a full season in the World Cup and made a splash in a sense. At the age of 21, she won the bronze in the first individual race, and in the course of the season she won a debut victory and finished the second twice. Davidova finished the season in 21st place among the best biathletes on the planet, and was third in the standings of individual races.
There has been a long talk about Justine Breza, a Frenchwoman, that she will become the new leader of her team. Still, at the age of 18, she helped the team win medals in the relay. Her growth did not turn out as fast as the fans expected, but still from the last World Cup she brought the bronze of the 15-kilometer race. At the same time, the French team also should not discount 23-year-old biathlete Julie Simon. With her help, French women won four team medals last season, and in the new she can prove herself in personal races.
The name of the Norwegian Ingrid Tandrevold has been heard by biathlon lovers for a long time. She only recently turned 23 years old, and without her it is already difficult to imagine the Norwegian team. The main achievement of the athlete last season was the silver of the world championship in the sprint, which obliges Tandrevold to reach a new level. She still lacks stability in the results, but with such accurate lying shooting as hers, this is fixable.
What to expect from the Russians?
The Russian team last summer lost one quota for participation in the World Cup. The team sank in the Nations Cup due to the disqualification of Margarita Vasilyeva and missed Sweden ahead, so that no more than five athletes can start in personal races. This is not pleasant enough, but this is not the first time with the women's team, and the absence of one athlete in the starting protocol is not fundamental.
The team has an undeniable leader - Ekaterina Yurlova-Perkht. Last season, she became the 14th in the overall World Cup standings, winning two personal medals during the season, one of which at the World Cup. It is with her that the main hopes of Russian fans will be connected. It is not necessary to expect that someone will support Yurlov-Percht with results. The Russian team has again been strikingly updated, and such inexperienced athletes as Larisa Kuklina, Kristina Reztsova and Tamara Voronina will still need time to adapt.
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Posted by Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht (@yurlovaeka) Nov 16, 2019 at 5:11 PST
In this regard, it will be difficult to wait for success in relay races - the compositions of other countries are much better balanced. Irina Starykh and Ekaterina Glazyrina could be of great help to the team - both of them are not only experienced enough, but also occupied high places in the qualifying competitions for the national team. However, the athletes will begin the season in the IBU Cup, and only in the New Year we can expect their promotion to the main team.