Biathlon World Cup
Horn fulfills his big dream: third place “simply brilliant”
Philipp Horn has to wait a long time for his first podium. At times he doubts himself. But his hard work finally pays off, he rewards himself and provides a tailwind for the German team.
After the long-awaited fulfillment of his big dream, Philipp Horn took a lot of time to meet the photo requests of the German biathlon fans. The Thuringian smiled into numerous cell phone cameras drawn out and thoroughly enjoyed the first podium finish of his career with third place in the Hochfilzen sprint. “That was the perfect race for me, simply brilliant,” said Horn. He also secured the German team’s first podium of the season.
After difficult years, setbacks and great doubts, he finally proved to himself and his critics: He is good enough for the podium – at the age of 31. “I used to get frustrated very quickly when something didn’t work out. The key to success is at the shooting range, where I became a little calmer,” said Horn, who this time – unlike so often – cleared all ten targets.
His first podium could be the key to even more top results in the Olympic winter. Maybe in the pursuit on Saturday (12 p.m./ARD and Eurosport), in which he will be six seconds behind sprint winner Tommaso Giacomel (0 errors) from Italy and two behind Frenchman Eric Perrot (0). “I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m starting at the front for the first time, it’s unbelievably cool.”
The fighter Horn is finally rewarded
“I’m particularly happy for Philipp. He deserves it – and of course that brings a good atmosphere to the whole team,” said Justus Strelow, who, like Philipp Nawrath (15th), at least made it into the top 20 in 19th place.
Horn has had difficult years. At the World Championships in Antholz in 2020, he came eighth in the sprint and won bronze in the relay and was considered a beacon of hope. But after that he was unable to deliver consistent performances at the highest level. He missed the 2021 World Cup, instead started at the European Championships and slipped back into the second-tier IBU Cup. Even after that, it was a constant ups and downs: the 2022 Olympics took place without him, as did the home World Cup in Oberhof. “There was a year in Antholz when I was relatively young and probably relatively naive. I thought, now I’m one of the fast people and it’ll go on like this,” Horn once said looking back.
Fast and yet never at the forefront
Horn has always been quick on the trails. This time too he was among the top five and ran the fastest final lap. “I’ve been at the front many times, but always missed one target,” said Horn.
Horn couldn’t cope with the quick, risky shooting that former national coach Uros Velepec had called for. He gets a lot of tips on this topic from former world champion Erik Lesser in Oberhof. The German biathletes have also been working with a sports psychologist since this season. Horn had previously had experience with mental trainers, but was never completely satisfied. That’s better now: “We have completely new approaches that I really liked.”
Extra shifts with the wheelbarrow
Horn also took a bit of a step back in his complex construction project in Oberhof. He bought an old villa with his wife Antonia and is converting it into a hotel for athletes. He wanted to open the home World Cup in Oberhof in January, but Horn canceled due to construction delays.
“It was a huge relief for me. Especially the double burden of training and the construction site, organizing everything – I noticed here and there that my head wasn’t there when I was shooting,” Horn said at the DSV outfitting in October.
But there may be something positive about the drudgery. “I put in a few extra shifts at home on the construction site. I drove the wheelbarrow a lot, maybe that gives me the extra power,” said Horn with a wink.
dpa
