display
Perhaps he could have become a good biathlete himself.
The systems were there.
In Mittenwald, Johannes Lukas trained as a competitive athlete under professional conditions in the Bundeswehr ski train.
But then his knee stopped doing it.
Two operations and finally the realization: It will probably not work anymore.
He had to end his career at the age of 21.
Now he is 27 - and causes a sensation with Sweden's biathletes.
Before the World Cup, which starts on Friday in Oberhof, the Swedes have already fought for 15 podium places this winter - two more than last season.
The team around Olympic champions Sebastian Samuelsson, 23, and Hanna Öberg, 25, were on the podium twice as often this winter as the athletes in the German team.
"We have made a record start, we have improved year after year," says Lukas.
"Oberhof is ready to come in, we want to get more and more in shape towards the World Cup."
display
In the Corona winter, the Swedes came to Thuringia by charter plane.
“Staying healthy is the most important thing this season.
That will be the key to success, ”says Lukas.
“We have a very good, our own hygiene concept.
It's even tougher than that from the world federation. ”So the coach only meets his athletes in person outdoors.
This is where you will find third-party content
In order to interact with or display content from third-party providers, we need your consent.
Activate external content
I consent to content from third parties being displayed to me.
This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.
This may require the storage of cookies on your device.
More information can be found here.
The sports scientist has been responsible for ski hunters as the successor to Wolfgang Pichler, 65, since May 2019.
He was already a Pichler helper at the Swedish Olympic triumphs in Pyeongchang, and his head coaching contract for women and men runs until 2022, until after the Winter Games in Beijing.
"I can imagine working for another nation"
No wonder that there is already speculation about a change to the German Ski Association.
“I always answer the same: I am very, very satisfied and happy currently in Sweden.
I have a great team and I feel very comfortable, ”says Lukas.
“But of course I'm only 27 and I can imagine working for another nation one day.
The end of my career is still a long way off. ”The young German trainer now speaks fluent Swedish.
display
His career in Sweden began as an intern - under suspicion of espionage.
First of all, Pichler said to him, “That won't work.
I am in the German system.
Not that I'm spying on anything, ”says Lukas.
“But then he called me two days later and said: I know your papa well.
I support you, you can come with me. "
In 2015, Lukas did his final internship with the Swedes, which was required by the Technical University of Munich, and was even allowed to attend the World Cup.
After the first year he was taken on as an assistant coach and worked closely with Pichler for three years.
"After Wolfgang resigned, I took over."
Here you will find content from Instagram
In order to interact with or display content from Instagram and other social networks, we need your consent.
Activate social networks
I consent to content from social networks being displayed to me.
This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.
This may require the storage of cookies on your device.
More information can be found here.
Of course, the sports scientist has not lost sight of the fact that comparisons are made with young coaches such as Julian Nagelsmann (RB Leipzig / 33) in football or Jaron Siewert (Füchse Berlin / 26) in handball.
"I thought about establishing contact after the season, if Corona allows it," said Lukas.
“It is certainly interesting to learn something again and to develop further.” Perhaps both sides could then benefit: “In general, I am a very open person, I am very interested and try to develop myself further.
I could very well imagine something like that. "