Italian Team on the Road to 2026

BMW IBU World Cup

18 Oct 2024

Italian Team on the Road to 2026

Two years ago, the Italians put together a 2026 plan with a new team concept that included young athletes, and staff changes to bring success in the 2026 Milan- Cortina Olympic Winter Games in their home, Antholz’s Südtirol Arena.

This is basically a young team with just three veterans: Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi and Lukas Hofer, all part of the 2018 OWG Bronze medal Mixed Relay team.

Beyond these veterans, the burden of Italy’s 2026 success lies on the shoulders of a group including Tommaso Giacomel, Didier Bionaz, Elia Zeni, Samuela Comola, Michela Carrara, Rebecca Passler, and Hannah Auchentaller.

“Core is stronger”

Women’s Coaches Jonne Kähkönen and Mirco Romanin commented on the team’s progress halfway to 2026. Kähkönen readily admitted, “I feel for sure the core is stronger than 2 years ago.” Romanin added, “With Lisa, we have made a big step. She is a good athlete in the races but in training she is a machine…The rest of the team has a level that is a little less than Lisa, which is clear. Still, we have to improve all of the girls. We have important goals for the team races, especially the women’s relay. We won the WCH Gold in Oberhof but last year was not so good. This year and in the Olympic year we want to prove ourselves.”

Kähkönen added, “You could say we had a bit of luck in Oberhof, but you have to earn luck. There were tough conditions and the girls shot well. Each year there has been someone new in the top 20, so the core is getting stronger.”

“We all want results at the snap of a finger”

Continuing, he emphasized the importance of years of training. “If you look at the athlete material that we have, they do not have the training now: the kilometers, runs or experience. We all want results like this (a snap of fingers) but it does not work like that. A sports psychologist told me that, ‘first you have to put yourself in a position that you can succeed and the following time you will succeed.’ ”

Antholz Advantage

Both think having the Olympics in Antholz is an advantage. Romanin said, “We know the tracks really well and will get 2 or 3 chances to train there next year…Of course we will have more pressure, but it is up to the staff to keep them calm, and we will have good results. That is our goal.”

Pressure on Lisa?

Regarding pressure on Total Score winner Vittozzi, Kähkönen said, “I have not talked to Lisa about having the Olympics at home because that is pressure. But for the top athletes, there is less pressure; for them, a race is a race. Of course, the Olympics have more pressure than a World Cup start. For the younger athletes, it can be a challenge.”

Yet the three veterans probably look at 2026 as Vittozzi did when she crept up on Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold in the waning days of the season, according to Kähkönen. “Lisa was really hungry and determined to win the Total Score. That was the difference at the end of the season.”

Before that last week, someone asked, “Do you believe you can still win?” Vittozzi replied, “If you do not believe you can win, then you can finish the season and go home.”

For Vittozzi and her teammates, there is but one goal according to Romanin, “After all the wins, the Olympic medal is the last part of the chase.”