Never Give Up!
Winter season started and the first races are already completed. Everyone knows that you should never give up, but today I want to share a story, which hopefully motivates you to fight through obstacles, which can make it even more fun to win!
Back in 2006/2007 my goal was to be on the podium for World Cup total score. My summer training went very well and I was very excited to start the race season at the end of November. I had the perfect start to the season, and by the third race, I was racing with the yellow bib, leading the world cup.
I had a great December and beginning of January and built up a comfortable cushion to my competitors. Everything was going as planned until I got a bad case of bronchitis. I had to skip four races and saw on TV how “my” yellow bib was taken over by other athletes. By the end of January, I started racing again, but of course I was not in great shape after being sick for so long. I kept losing points to the those in front of me with every race.
By mid-February I got my strength back and started closing the gap step by step. At the end of March, it came down to the last race of the season. There was a chance to win the total score, for me, my team mate Kati Wilhelm and Anna Carin Olofsson from Sweden. It was a mass start, five loops, 12.5km, and four times shooting.
The race started and of course all of us came together to the first shooting stage. There I missed all five targets! First thing I had to do was to concentrate. It seems silly, but Biathletes know it is not as easy as it seems counting penalty loops, when shooting more than three. It’s a good thing I experienced that before ;)
Entering the second loop, I was in last place. On this loop I got the information, that all ofmy previous shots had been up and to the right – great shooting, just the wrong spot...
When I came to the next shooting stage, everyone was already done. But by hitting all five targets this time, I was not last anymore. At my third shooting stage, I missed one more target, but now I had Kati skiing the second to last loop just in front of me. Entering the stadium area, we were skiing directly towards a big screen. This made it easy to see what was going on at the shooting range. There we saw Anna Carin missing four targets in her last shooting. Here was my chance again- Anna Carin in the penalty loop and Kati shooting next to me- Somehow I put it together and cleaned again, Kati missed one and I made it back on course, before Anna Carin made it out of the penalty loop. I finished 15th that day, but this was good enough to earn 1st in the overall World Cup.
Please never give up! Even when the race does not turn out the way you were hoping, you at least want to know that you did your best. Trust me, I didn’t get as lucky all the time, but this story shows that races sometimes offer chances that are hard to see at first. But you need to keep yourself in a solid position-and mental state- for when those chances show up.
In 2004, after two very unsatisfying years, I promised myself to do everything as professional that I could. I never wanted to have to blame myself for not trying hard enough. Do I look back and see, what I could have done better? Yes! Do I need to blame myself for what I did or did not do? No. Because at that time, I did what I thought was the best training, gave the most effort, and had the right focus.
To all the Biathletes: Did I swear after my first shooting stage and throw my rifle? No! Please never do that! If I would have done that, I never would have won the overall score. Was I in a situation that I could have had that reaction? Maybe, but it did not even cross my mind.
By acting out this way, you will only lose more focus, taking yourself even further out of the race. You can swear after crossing the finish line, or even better, just get rid of your anger on the last loop.
If things are not going well, it is important to analyze, to be totally honest with yourself and to make adjustments if necessary. Through Nordic Team Solutions you have a great resource of articles, which will give you answers, ideas and guidance. You can also contact one of us, to support you to reach your goals.
I wish all of you a great season, without any reason to blame yourself!