My Monday Routine with Lisa Vittozzi
Last season, the renaissance of Lisa Vittozzi came full circle, going from 31st in the world in 2022 to 1st this season. The 29-year-old from the 1,300-person village of Sappada shot at a 92% clip, topped the podium five times including taking an IBU World Championship, two discipline small crystal globes and fulfilled a lifetime dream winning the World Cup Total Score in dramatic fashion on the season’s closing weekend. Vittozzi recently revealed how she starts her week and the words she lives by that helped her achieve her long-awaited goal.
Biathlonworld: What time do you wake up on Monday and what is the first thing you do after you wake up?
Lisa Vittozzi: I wake up at seven every day. I take my measurements (pulse etc.) and then I go out. BW: What is the first app that you look at on your phone?
LV: Instagram!
BW: What makes breakfast perfect?
LV: Porridge, eggs and croissant, plus some cereal and fruit in the porridge.
BW: In the morning, do you do yoga, stretching, go for a jog or do mental preparation before training?
LV: No, but in the winter before training or a race, for sure I do a little bit of mental preparation. In the summer, only when there is intensity training.
BW: Is you backpack always packed and ready in the morning or do you throw everything in at the last minute?
LV: (Laughing) It depends. If I have time in the evening, I prepare the day before, but normally it is last minute. In the winter, I have more time and prepare the night before.
BW: What is the most important thing you have ever forgotten to put in your backpack?
LV: A few times I forgot my rifle at home, stopped the car halfway and gone back home to get the rifle!
BW: In the morning when you are going to training, do you have a list in your mind knowing what you will do all day long?
LV: Yes, I look at the program the day before and prepare myself for the next day’s work.
BW: Are you a perfectionist about training?
LV: Yes, really, I am a perfectionist in my job, my sport. In life, that is not in order; it is a little disorganized. BW: You do an online training log, but do you also keep a personal journal?
LV: I wrote something during my bad period in sport. Sometimes, I feel the need to write something because in the future, I might write something about me, my life. I do this when I feel the need.
BW: Is there one piece of advice that is in your mind every day?
LV: If you want something, you have to put in all you have to pursue your dreams.
BW: At the end of the day, what do you do to relax, wind down?
LV: In the summer, you work a lot, so I might lay down and watch some series on Netflix; just not think about biathlon or anything else; disconnect.
BW: What can’t you live without?
LV: Biathlon! No, that is a part of my life, but for me I know I will not continue this life forever; at some age my time will come. But for now, I cannot live without biathlon.
BW: Are you a picky eater? LV: There are not many things that I do not like. I eat everything.
BW: What is the hardest part of being a professional biathlete?
LV: Being on top for a long time means that you have to get better and better every year. You will never get as many victories as you want. Sometimes it is hard with the pressure and all of the things behind the performance.
BW: What is your secret talent?
LV: I do not know; maybe I have to discover one!
BW: How long did it take to get over the end of the season?
LV: It has been hard. I still have not recovered (as of early July) because last year for me was really, really hard. When you are on top, there is a lot of pressure. When you stop, all of the emotions that you have been through means you have to take more time to understand what happened. For me, it was really hard to believe what I did, but now I know it was real.
BW: Have you learned how to say “no” this summer?
LV: Yes, there are all of these people who ask and want me to go here and there. So sometimes you have to take time for yourself. If you only think about those things (money and publicity) then you do not have enough time to recover and no time to train.
BW: What is on your “to do” list after camp?
LV: Recover…see my boyfriend and family; it is always a short time that I am home so nothing special, just chill.
Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Jerry Kokesh, Lisa Vittozzi
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