The Bitter Drama of the Biathlon Winter: "It Was a Shock"

The Bitter Drama of the Biathlon Winter: "It Was a Shock"

Defending champion Lisa Vittozzi was impeded in her pursuit of another overall title due to serious injuries. Now, she shares how her winter experience has been overwhelmingly difficult.

While Franziska Preuß celebrated winning the overall World Cup in biathlon, her predecessor Lisa Vittozzi had to face a nightmare of a winter. Vittozzi, who had won the big crystal globe in 2024, found herself unable to participate actively and ended up abruptly ending her season.

"It has been four really hard months, both physically and mentally," she explained during a media appointment for the Italian skiing federation. Last autumn, the 30-year-old appeared in top form while training hard and was regarded as a strong favorite. "But then an incident occurred in November that completely set me back. I tried to hold on until December, but my back couldn't handle it; the pain was too severe," she described her experience.

She repeatedly set new benchmarks for her return, only to have to abandon them until the harsh realization hit her in January. "Having a mediocre season, in which I couldn’t reach my full potential, wouldn’t have made sense since I wouldn’t have had time to recover," explained the twelve-time world championship medalist regarding her drastic decision.

Vittozzi stressed how difficult it was for her to step back from competitions. "It was a bit destabilizing to not be able to participate in any competitions. It was shocking, and I needed to take time to process that," she noted. "I was under a lot of pressure and worry."

However, she is now feeling better and has refocused on her ultimate goal: the upcoming Olympics in her Italian homeland.

"Every day I see improvements, which makes me feel more at peace," Vittozzi remarked.

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