An incredibly challenging yet successful season is over now and Tirl Eckhoff is back in Norway to spend the first weeks quarantined in the isolation of her cabin. In the relaxed look of a hand-knitted sweater, Tiril Eckhoff cuddles up with memories of the past winter, speaks of friendship and rivalry, and looks up to the future.

BW: By this time, emotions had already subsided: what does winning the overall title mean to you?

TE: It has been a very good season. I'm very happy just to be able to show what I'm really capable of. I knew I had potential, but for a while I didn't manage to unlock it. For the first time this year, I showed everyone that I could manage to do biathlon.

BW: What was the hardest part of this season for you?

TE :Probably the beginning, when we went to Kontiolahti and suddenly there was a big fuss about one of the Russians who got coronavirus. All of a sudden we had to eat in our rooms, and that's when I felt like it wasn't so much fun. Then the announcement came that the Norwegian ski team had decided not to participate in any ski races. I was getting more and more nervous. And they became heroes to Norwegian society because they thought of the people by refusing to compete. Meanwhile, I was stuck in a hotel room and at the time I wasn't sure if it was worth it. It wasn't fun at all and it was the hardest start of the season ever.

BW: What helped you deal with it, get in shape and actually start winning?

TE: I think it was people at home telling me that what I do is important. They had nothing to do, and they really wanted to have something entertaining on television. It meant a lot to me because I felt like I was actually making a difference in people's lives back home. It inspired me to keep doing what I had been training to do all season long.

BW: At what point did you start to think about the overall World Cup title?

TE: I learned a lot last season and knew that you can't win the World Cup over a weekend. You have to be in good shape during the whole season. I was fit and strong with those many hours of training behind me. I just had to be patient and try to win as many races as I could. Then I figured if things worked out and I did my best, we could sum it up in the last races. That was my plan, but I didn't think much about winning the total score, I just tried to do as many good races as possible.

BW: It's probably best not to overthink the whole thing.

TE: I think so. Because last year I thought about it too much and I didn't do very well in the World Championship, so I had to try really hard to do good races at the end of the season. The pressure in the last race was too much to handle. So this year I really wanted to change things for the better.

BW: You did it. Besides, you have won the total score several races prior to the end. Is that a world-class athlete's sign of sorts?

TE: I don't feel that way. There were two of us, me and Marte fighting for the total score, and we both really wanted to win the Crystal Globe. But when I won by such a good margin, I think it was easier for her, too. There were no bad feelings between us, just fair play. This year alone, I did very well.

BW: Did the atmosphere in the team change anyhow?

TE: Not really. It was obvious that there would be a fight between Marte and me this year. We talked a lot about it in the team and we were aware that it could be problematic because we are individuals and we do individual sports. But we are honest people, we are a good team and I think we handled it very well. Everyone in our team wants to be the best and everyone has something special they are good at. We work very hard to achieve our goals. When we train together, we bring each other up and invest in our good team atmosphere.

BW: Did you feel the importance of being an athlete in such difficult times?

TE: It was important just to race, then people had something to watch on TV. Also, in Norway there was a very hard lockdown in children's sport. Young people could not compete or train, while we were allowed to do our sports. I am glad that we were able to make some good races. Biathlon is very important to me, and I really wanted to show that it was safe and also to bring some joy to the not-so-fun times.

BW: Were you afraid of getting sick at any time before or during the season?

TE: Of course. But we had very strict rules in our team, and we were almost isolated all the time. Though I was scared, especially when I came to Pokljuka and to Nove Mesto. When I went to the testing area, I thought what would happen if I got the coronavirus now. My boyfriend was probably more afraid than I was, though.

BW: How would you describe the level of competition in women's biathlon this season?

TE: I think the level in women's biathlon is actually higher than in men's biathlon. We shoot better, and I think the female athletes in the Top-10 are more equal to each other than the male athletes in the same category. Maybe it's a little weird when I say that, but I think so. If you take the sprints, we often shoot like zero, zero, one, zero zero. And in the men's sprint there is always Johannes with two mistakes in the Top-10.

BW: Is it easy for you to separate good advice from advice that doesn't work for you, for example when it comes from a coach who you initially should trust?

TE: Before I used to talk to a lot of people, and I received a lot of advice. I listened to them all and got a little crazy. This year I cut a lot of people out of my life to keep things simple and easy. Patrick Oberegger and I have a very simple tone and if he tells me too much, I would always ensure to let him know about it. I have become more mature and now I follow my own intuitive feelings and experiences rather than the thoughts and advice of others. It probably comes with age.

BW: As you get older, do you pay more attention to your health?

TE: Not really. Actually, I feel like I'm in better shape now than I've ever been. It's also a women's thing, though. When you're twenty, you always have that puberty fat, and as you get older, you get stronger and fitter. It's much easier for men to have testosterone all the time. So they are fit in their twenties, but I wasn't fit when I was twenty. The more hours I train, the healthier I get. But I also know that restitution takes a bit longer as you get older. What I can say for sure is that I've never got faster in my life than I am now. And my health is really good. I also care a lot about what I eat, because as a woman you always have to think about having babies someday.

BW: So, do you have plans of that sort?

TE: I don't think about it now, but once for sure. There are a lot of Russian athletes, for example, who get kids and manage to come back. I think that's really cool. You never know about these kinds of things, maybe I'm not capable of having kids. So I just keep my fingers crossed and hope that everything will turn out well. I hope to have a family someday, but now there are the Olympics next year and I'm looking forward to them.

BW: Professional sport teaches you to be more aggressive and competitive, to make your own decisions without asking anyone, and these are probably not the best qualities for a good relationship. How does this work for you?

TE: Yes, I know what you mean. You might as well get more cynical. The best thing about this year, for example, was that during the break I came home and spent a lot of time with my boyfriend. I'm much more relaxed around him and we make a really good team. His name is Anund and mine is Tiril, so we're a small team “TA”. That's our little thing. I don't think it's always that easy to be together with me, but we have a really good team spirit. He supports me and helps me develop in biathlon. He is now a cross-country skiing teacher and he knows me very well to also help me grow as an athlete.

BW: How should you act during your sports career so that you don't lose touch with the outside world and so that when you finish your career, you don't find yourself dropped out of society with no idea what to do next?

TE: Actually, I'm a bit afraid of that myself. I see people like Emil Hegle Svendsen, who has a really good life, or Tora Berger, who is about to become a coach. But I don't want to be a coach because I don't have the ability to be patient. I think a lot about what I should do after my sporting career, but I still don't know. Maybe I would do something on TV. The important thing for me is that I want to do something on my own. When you do sports, you know what to do every day and I need my own structure. I don't know if I could do an “eight to four” job, which would be very different from my life. Maybe I will do some studies to get a bachelor's degree, because that’s important in Norway.

BW: How do you imagine your life in ten years?

TE: Well, in ten years' time I will be 40... So I guess I would have children, live my life very relaxed, and I hope I would have a job that gives me the same spark as I have for biathlon. I really wish to find something like this for myself after my sports career.

BW: We saw you watch the deciding men's start; who did you support: JT or Sturla?

TE: Oh God, I can't say. I'm very happy for Johannes - he's like a giant in biathlon. I just had an amazing season, but Johannes had one season with 16 victories and that's crazy. He has a history that goes far beyond others. But I'm a big fan of Sturla, he's something else. I've never seen a cold focused mind like his. He does a lot on his own and believes that what he does is right. He is very smart and I think he is a biathlete for years to come.

Photo: IBU/C. Manzoni & V. Thibaut