This past weekend in Oberhof will stand out for Ukraine’s Dmytro Pidruchnyi as one of life’s unforgettable moments. Five plus years after becoming IBU Pursuit World Champion, Pidruchnyi equaled his second-best career result, a clean-shooting 4th place in the Oberhof Sprint, followed it up with a second Flower Ceremony appearance for 6th in the pursuit.

It has been a long journey for the 33-year-old with years of results not matching high expectations, serious injuries, training far from home and family, and the war in Ukraine making his personal and sports life far from normal. Yet Pidruchnyi has persevered with support from his federation, coach, family, the larger biathlon family, and as he said after the sprint, “I am now able to compete at the top again.”

Before heading off to Ruhpolding for next week’s World Cup, Pidruchnyi answered our Five Burning Questions and a sixth about spending time with his family over the Christmas break.

Biathlonworld: Three of your best-ever results have been in Oberhof, how much fun and motivating is it having these boisterous, loud fans cheering just a meter of so all along the tracks?

Dmytro Pidruchnyi: I always enjoy competing in front of full stands. And Oberhof is no exception. The atmosphere here is really great. The fans are very passionate. No matter what the weather is like at the stadium, they support the biathletes. It's really wonderful. It’s also nice that Ukrainian fans find a way to come here and cheer for us in Oberhof. I hear their support; I see Ukrainian flags. It motivates me to compete and inspires me to compete better on the track. Perhaps my good results are somewhat connected to the incredible support and atmosphere.

BW: Your shooting is at a career high so far this winter; did you change anything to make this big step?

DP: It’s nice to see high shooting performance. During the off-season, I changed both my rifle and the stock. I worked a lot on my shooting with my coach. I understand that without good shooting stability, it’s hard to battle for high results in the World Cup. That’s why we focused a lot on this aspect during the summer.

BW: How hard has it been to stay motivated with less-than-hoped-for results in the 5+ years since your Pursuit World Championship in Oestersund?

DP: Over these five years, I’ve had many good races, both in relays and individual competitions. Yes, these are mostly not medal races or podium finishes. But I remember Nové Město in the 19/20 season, where we finished second in the men's relay. It was an amazing race! During these years, I've finished in the top 6 and have participated in the flower ceremony quite a few times.

Of course, these are not medals. But it didn’t upset me. I was ready to keep working. And now I have even more motivation than ever before. I want to battle for the highest places in the World Cup.

The last two years I had serious injuries: first a leg injury and knee surgery, and then a hand injury. So, in a way, I had the chance to rest a bit, as I wasn’t able to fully compete in the last two seasons. But this only fueled my motivation to train harder and take a step forward.

BW: Week-after-week last summer you trained with just you and Coach Sanitra, how important is his constant support and guidance?

DP: Juraj Sanitra is a very important person in my sports career. All my best results have come under his guidance. We have a strong mutual understanding and support each other. Of course, it was sometimes difficult to train on my own, but we planned our training camps in a way that allowed us to meet with other teams in different places. We also tried to arrange sparring sessions with strong opponents. I see a lot of advantages in training with a smaller team. The coach is focused on me, he can see better what’s happening with me, and he can dedicate more attention to me. I believe this has a significant impact on my results.

BW: On Saturday, everyone in the Flower Ceremony stood on the podium holding the Ukrainian Flag, what does support from the biathlon family mean to you and your team?

DP: It’s great and quite unexpected that the guys took a photo with the flag. This was Sturla Laegreid’s initiative and other Norwegians – Tarjei and Johannes – happily joined in, along with the French guys Eric and Quentin. It’s a strong message to the world, not just to the biathlon one, that Ukraine is not alone, and the best athletes in the world are supporting our country.

It’s especially pleasing that the best biathletes from different countries are joining my initiative, where I am raising funds for shelters for children in the Kharkiv region, near the border, where intense fighting is ongoing. Biathletes are donating their race starting bibs, which I raffle off for donations on my Instagram page. They are not afraid to openly express their position and support for Ukraine. This is wonderful and very important for us. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the guys again for this gesture and their support.

Thank you, biathlon family, Ukrainians feel that we are not alone.

Biathlonworld Bonus: You spent some time with your family over the holidays, what was the best part of those precious days?

DP: The best part was that we were able to celebrate Christmas, New Year, and my son's birthday together. My wife, daughter, son, and I skied, walked, and played games together. Every day spent with them was priceless. They filled me with positive energy. As we can see, this had a great impact on me during the races in Oberhof. It was an unforgettable time I spent together with my family.

Although he did not make the podium this week, there are new chances every week and whether or not he steps on the podium, Dmytro Pidruchnyi is a champion.

Photos: IBU/Vianney Thibaut, Nordic Focus