Interview

Interview from Mach 23rd 2003 after the last competition of the WCHs of Khanty Mansiysk 2003. Thanks to t-sports for the permission to publish it this site.

"That was pretty whackening"

"Happy ending" for biathlete Sven Fischer: the 31-years old Thuringian took the longed for medal in an individual competition – silver in the world championships’ mass start. He has been world champion in this discipline in 1999. Apart from that, he won the overall world cup twice, achieved three gold medals as member of the relay team and two in olympic relays. After today’s race Fischer answered the questions asked by t-sports.

t-sports: Congratulations, Mr. Fischer! Did it take off a weight from your mind, when you crossed the finishing line?
Sven: Definitely yes. The season was full of ups and downs. I never really found my shape. The placings in the beginning of the WCHs weren’t really bad, but not thrilling either. One is critical of course and tries to improve.

Did the gold medal in the relay encourage you?
Sven: Winning the relay was a great relief for all of us. It gave my self-confidence a boost in any case. I didn’t feel very well athleticly. But in the relay I noticed that I was able to keep up with Frode Andresen – and he’s a very good skater. But I never thought it would be enough to achieve a medal today.

How did you get along with the wind today?
Sven: We knew about the difficult conditions, because of the women’s race. It was the worst day for the men, but apart from that, he had perfect conditions here in Siberia.

Are you a bit relieved that the season is over now?
Sven: It was something new to have the WCHs in the end of the season. That was pretty whackening. All the athletes are happy that the season’s over, because it is very difficult to keep in shape for such a long time.

Is there any time to party today?
Sven: Our plane back home goes tomorrow night. So this is the best time to party (laughs). We’ll see!