In conversation with "our" biathlete Christian Krasman

Biathlon is a demanding sport that requires many different skills. Endurance, concentration, cross-country skiing, sport shooting... how does someone decide to take up this sport?

I went cross-country skiing with my father in Dresselbach (Black Forest) as a child. From primary school onwards, I took part in competitions and then I came to biathlon via a test training in Sch?nwald, Germany. Through practice came the skills and with them the fun and motivation to pursue the sport intensively.

You have a heavy training workload. How do you stay motivated? What do you do to compensate?

I train twice a day for two hours each. It's important that you enjoy training. Of course, there are also days when you have a hard time. But in the last two years it has become clear that I want to do the sport professionally. My own goals give me an additional boost of motivation. My friends and family are very important to me as a balance.

What is your next goal? The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan?

Of course, the Olympics are a goal and a dream of mine. Now I'm doing another year in the junior class and then the men's class is waiting for me the year after next. The German World Cup participants have an average age of 27. In biathlon, it usually takes a few years to build up the necessary level for international competitions. I still have a lot of hard training days ahead of me, but I am highly motivated to be at the Olympics.

The Notschrei training base in the Black Forest provides coaches for many fields and disciplines. What do you particularly enjoy? What tips do yoga or mental coaches give you, for example?

Before competitions I meditate to train my concentration and to calm down. I also develop a "script", i.e. I mentally go through all the procedures before competitions: the ski race, the transition and the shooting. Yoga is less fun for me (laughs). As a form of training, I really like road cycling in summer, and the area around Freiburg, where I live, is very suitable for it. In winter I also like to go cross-country skiing on the Feldberg.

You train with 15 other top athletes. Does everyone do their own thing, is there noticeable competition or is there a strong team spirit?

There's a strong team spirit during training, there's no envy or resentment. During the competition we are competitors, but not before and after. That works well. You are opponents for 30 minutes and then you are teammates again. If someone is better, he’s better. You just have to accept that. Of course, different opinions exist sometimes, but that's natural. Just like everywhere else where people work together.

Can you also take a holiday or switch off?

After the winter season and in summer there are short opportunities to take a holiday. But it is not advisable to lay back and relax. Especially in summer when intensive training is scheduled for the following weeks. We work on our physical fitness in summer and autumn and then deliver in winter. Then it's one competition after the other. But I like it a lot. If things don't go well, you immediately get the opportunity to do better the next day or a week later.

Finally, can you give us a fitness tip for the summer?

To get in shape, I can highly recommend interval training. Start with 15-20 minutes of slow jogging to warm up. Then start with 30-second sprints, interspersed with one-minute breaks in between. Do six repetitions in 2 set. If you still can go on, do 3 sets (laughs). In principle, this is HIIT training (high intensity interval training), which we also use to prepare for competitions.

Thank you very much for the interview, Christian. We will start by developing a mental routine of the HIIT training. ??

We wish you every success and top results!