The biathlon world championships will be held in Oberhof, Germany, in three weeks despite the lack of snow. The International Biathlon Federation is convinced that the competitions can be arranged.
The lack of snow and the high temperatures have affected winter sports this year. Several World Cup competitions have been cancelled, including alpine and Nordic combined.
Skiing has been next in line to possibly be affected by the prevailing climate in Central Europe. The International Ski Federation FIS went out today with the gratifying announcement that the World Cup weekend in Les Rousses will be arranged as planned on the last weekend in January.
The Biathlon World Cup has been spared from inhibitions, but the situation before the WC is worrying to say the least.
Although the competitions during the season have been organized, the conditions have not been optimal. During last weekend’s World Cup competitions in Germany’s Ruhpolding, green lawns could be discerned around the ski tracks.
The competition organizers have had to react quickly and the tracks have been created from stored snow.
– It is a shame that there are green areas around most of the competition venues, especially in Central Europe. This is not the best winter for us. Organizing the competitions requires good preparation, commented Daniel Böhm, sports and events manager of the International Biathlon Union IBU to Yle Urheilu.
Concerned riders
In three weeks, the Biathlon World Championships will be held in Oberhof, Germany. On site there is no snow as far as the eye can see.
The Norwegian athletes who have seen the pictures from Oberhof are worried about the situation.
– The Biathlon World Cup cannot be organized there now. It’s more about roller skiing, Norwegian skating star Sturla Holm Lægreid said gloomily to NRK.
– I have experienced everything possible at Oberhof. The weather can change even during the race. We have to keep our fingers crossed that it will snow there before the WC, said Marte Olsbu Røiseland.
The snow in Oberhof is non-existent.
Image: IMAGO/foto2press/ All Over Press
Oberhof
The race organizers are aware of the situation and have prepared by storing snow from last year.
– However, I don’t think we need to use it, Böhm assured NRK.
According to the weather forecast, colder days with snow and freezing temperatures are expected. The situation is about to change.
Böhm says that the IBU looks at the weather forecasts three weeks ahead.
– If we see problems, we must communicate with the competition organizer. The deadline is ten days before the competition event. If the race cannot be held, we will have to look at other options.
The star athlete is worried about the world situation
The winter in Central Europe has been unusually warm. Of the European countries, only Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia currently have suitable conditions for winter sports. Nowhere else in Europe are the temperatures below zero.
In the article that NRK published over the weekend, it is said that the forecasts look the same even in February, when the WC in winter sports is organized in different parts of Europe.
The situation is rare. For example, in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, the New Year was celebrated in almost 20 degrees.
– We have not competed in any competitions on natural snow this year. It’s a shame that our sport and the world are melting away, says the Norwegian star biathlon skier Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold to NRK.
Tandrevold believes that the situation is caused by climate change. He reminds that the biathlon situation in the big picture seems insignificant.
Tandrevold is more concerned about the future of the Earth.
– We see the effects of climate change up close and it’s a shock.
The article is a translation and adaptation of Yle Urheilu’s article Norjailaiset kispaikalla karuista oloista ampumahiihdon MM-kisapaikalla by Joel Sippola and Petri Sjöblom.
