Last year’s biathlon season was special in many ways for Eckhoff.
The coronavirus characterizes life as a top athlete, with strict anti-infection rules and isolation throughout the season. This, combined with the great success of the sports doctor, took charge of the 31-year-old.
– I think everything with infection control measures, isolation and everything out of the ordinary costs a little more than I imagined. When you’re done all of a sudden, Eckhoff tells NRK, it becomes a dump for me.
worn out after the season
From November to March, he went in one group to the athletes. In addition to the World Cup, which Eckhoff won by nearly 200 points over Mart Olspo Rossland, she also had the best results at the World Cup in Pokloka.
WC QUEEN: Eckhoff earned six medals from Pokljuka.
Photo: Primoz Lovric / NTB
Eckhoff made the Queen of the World Cup in Slovenia in February with two individual golds, two golds in the relay, one silver in the relay, and one individual bronze.
One month later, the season ended in Östersund, and Eckhoff emerged from the biathlon bubble. But the time after the season wasn’t just easy.
– It was something special. I returned to the aura and the atmosphere was a little tired. I had a fracture, and then I got a little tired, she says.
Eckhoff said she spent the summer and spring trying to recover, before she was able to train well again.
– I think everyone who is a parent of young children is ten times worse than I have. But as a top female athlete, it was a bit embarrassing not to have that much energy, she adds with one smile.
– It will be a lot in total
Emil Hegle Svendsen, NRK’s biathlon expert, thinks it’s no wonder she was decommissioned when the season ended.
Success: Emil Heigl Svendsen himself felt pressured regarding a successful season throughout his career.
Photo: Mikhail Metzel/AP
“I was in almost all the races last season, and when all goes well there will be a lot of media and doping control and a lot of control in general,” says Svendsen, who himself won the World Cup overall in the 2009/10 season.
– I can also see the additional energy consumption associated with a coronary artery scan, with caution regarding infection and precautions at all times. He says it will be a lot in total.
But at the Blink Festival, Eckhoff showed the energy was back. For the first time in her career, she participated in the ice rink in Sundance.
She is now looking forward to the Olympics in Beijing this winter. This in a yard can quickly become windy.
– The Olympics are a big goal, but at the same time I know Beijing has a lot of different conditions, so I think it could be bingo in biathlon. So you just have to try to prepare for it as best you can, says Eckhoff.
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