Olympic hope V. Strolia – about the upcoming historical event for Lithuania, the country’s record and Eurosport’s attention
V.Strolia, who switched from skiing to biathlon after the 2014 Sochi Olympics, is writing her first fruits.
At the start of this season, the biathlete from Anykščiai improved the Lithuanian record, and in the stages of the World Cup he is collecting a point and knocking on the prestigious sports elite.
“It was a lot – the preparation, good and strong, I was satisfied with all the camps, and I was in a mood that was very ambitious some time ago,” Strolia revealed the results of the start of the season.
Striat currently ranks 30th in the International Biathlon Federation (IBU) rankings. For comparison, after three world cup stages, the Lithuanian is ahead of such biathlon stars as the German Erik Lesser (33rd place) or the Slovenian Jakov Fak (46).
He started the season by overtaking the planet champion
Lithuanian biathletes started in November, when they started in the 10 km sprint competition in Norway. In them, V. Strolia took the 13th place and overtook the current planet champion, the second place in the overall standings of the World Cup, Norway’s Sturl Holm Laegreid.
This was followed by a successful start in the World Cup, where it was already a successful stage in Eesthund (Sweden) to earn the top spot. V.Strolia, the leader of the national team, took the 18th place in the 20 km personal race of the opening stage of the season.
During the broadcast of this competition, the Lithuanian face was blurred three times by the Eurosport channel, the directors of which showed three shots of a Lithuanian biathlete. This is a second sight, but very pleasant.
“I don’t pay much attention to it, because I don’t think the results are very proud of me. My goals and aspirations are higher, I want more. Nevertheless, it is gratifying that Eurosport also shows representatives from other countries, such as Lithuania. Glad the focus isn’t just on leaders. However, I try not to pay much attention to the headlines, because there is no boast yet, a point that I am very happy about has not yet been reached, ”says V. Strolia.
Still, the results speak for themselves. The athlete has been successful in all three stages of the World Cup to date, where he has scored points. Not only that, V. Strolia also improved Lithuanian records.
In December, the biathlete improved in the sprint competition of independent Lithuania up to 10 km, when he took the 12th place in the World Cup stage in Austria.
“It simply came to our notice then. I’m working to reach 20, it’s time to make it happen. Of course, a lot of work has been put into it, I am glad that it is finally paying off, ”the athlete is happy.
Poland other Baltic states
In the world stage in Sweden, history has been repeated in the men’s relay. Karolis Dombrovskis, Vytautas Strolia, Tomas Kaukėnas and Linas Banys took the 14th place.
Looking at the ranking of the men’s world, we will not find any Latvians or Estonians among the 75 athletes who scored points, although it is the representatives of these countries who cherish the much more prominent traditions of biathlon.
“If you compare men, I am definitely much higher than Latvians or Estonians. as we were consistent, we are always getting ready with the team together. We have been working with the same coach for four years now, I think it helps a lot. We do not distract from the common team goal, we trust the coaches, which leads to improving results “, V.Strolia assessed.
For the first time in the history of Lithuania, the men’s biathlon team will go to the Beijing Olympics, where it participates in the team relay competition. V and excellent results contributed to this.
“The mere fact that the whole team is going to the Olympics is very gratifying. We did it last Olympics, but it didn’t work out, we were a little upset. We have all been determined to go to this Olympics, I think we deserve it. It is gratifying that we will be able to compete in the relay together, which is a great achievement for Lithuania and us. Of course, you just have to put it all together to be successful, ”says the participant in the Sochi and Pyongyang Olympics.
The pandemic does not interfere
It is not in the homeland during the season. World Cup stages take place almost every week and preparation camps force you to travel abroad, where winter sports are much better.
However, Strolia says the coronavirus pandemic is not stifling competition.
“It simply came to our notice then. Sure, it’s somewhat borderline, but there are no cardinally strict rules. It’s a shame there can’t be fans. True, some of them were on stage in France, so the experience is quite different, the atmosphere is unique and there are completely different things to do in such a competition. It is necessary to wear masks in hotels, and there are certain rules in some places in the stadium, but it is not in such a way that it is very disturbing to concentrate, ”says the Lithuanian.
However, tougher restrictions and controls will not be avoided at the Beijing Olympics, which will begin on February 4th. Chinese representatives have already circulated demands, including daily coronavirus tests, a closed Olympic campus and other preventive measures.
Nevertheless, Strolia’s focus on these stimuli does not go too far and seeks to better prepare for the upcoming Olympics.
“For the rest of the time, we need to get as close as possible to the maximum sports form. Now we are not very ready for the World Cup to get up. Of course, it’s hard to predict sometimes. We will take part in several more stages of the World Cup, and in the last Italy, which will take place before the Olympics, we are thinking of starting the relay only.
Just before Beijing, we are still going to camp in the mountains, where we will put the last highlights. We plan to go to China on December 31st, we will have a few more days off before the start to get used to the time zone difference, ”said V. Strolia.
5 or 6 Lithuanian biathletes will take part in the Beijing Olympics. The mentioned men’s team, which consists of K.Dombrovskis, V.Strolia, T.Kaukėnas and L.Banys, and Natalija Kočergina, already has practically guaranteed places. Gabrielė Leščinskaitė, who ranks 11th in the IBU ranking, is also short of going to the Olympics. She would get a ticket to Beijing if she rose to 10th place by January 16th.
The Beijing Winter Olympics will be held from 4 to 20 February.