The last two weeks have seen unprecedented success in Latvian biathlon – Esther Wolfa used the walls of Madonna’s house here and for the first time in history brought Latvia two victories in one of the stages of the World Junior Cup, and a week later became the European champion for juniors in the mass start. Another Olympian competed both in Madona and in the Finnish city of Imatra – only 16-year-old Rihards Lozbers – he, just like Esther, also comes from a very sporty family.
Rihards Lozbers will definitely be the youngest participant of the Latvian Milan-Cortina Olympic Games – some would be intoxicated by the growth of the 16-year-old Talsi player this season, but the native of Kurzeme stands with both feet on the ground.
“When the last stage of the Olympic selection was in Lenzerheide, I realized that the goal was very close. Then there was a bit of excitement.
I would say that it was also felt between the guys – it wasn’t so friendly anymore. I felt that there was pressure, that this is the final part of the Olympic selection,” says Lozbers.
Lozber’s father, Ainars, however, reveals that he was sure of his son’s inclusion in the Olympic team. “From the first grade, while children usually miss school, he overslept, he got up at six and rode an exercise bike every morning.”
Rihard’s story is already special – the young man has only been doing biathlon for a couple of years. Until then, the Kurzemnik’s main focus was cycling, where his father once achieved good success.
“I graduated from a sports school myself. And the only thing I can teach a child is to ride a bike.
Drove up and down Talsi Mound. That’s five times. People came to wonder how such a small boy could do it!” recalls Ainārs.
He discovers that his son’s secret lies in training with older students instead of his peers. In the Junior World Cup in Madona, Lozber’s competitors were even four years older.
His speed was impressive – absolutely no competitor to the Latvian in skiing speed even came close. Full happiness in biathlon requires another component – shooting. Here Rihards already hit only one of five shots in the first shooting range…
“In biathlon, you have to go to school for ten years to learn something. It’s not just about how much you’re physically capable of. You can run or ride fast, but shooting is a big school,” says Ainars.
“I would say that most people here shoot from the age of ten. Maybe someone has already tried even earlier. But I’ve only been doing it for three years. This is just the beginning, the very beginning. Shooting is such a long process to learn,” says Lozber.
Rihard’s talents are appreciated – his story is not only special for us. If it took many seasons for our long-time national team leaders Andrej Rastorgujev and Baiba Bendika to get the skis of the manufacturers, Lozber was already approached by the giant of the ski manufacturer this season.
“Before that, you had to buy everything. Now you can get something, it’s a big plus. You can get skis that you can’t buy, that others can’t get at all,” says Lozber, but he is modest in his self-praise:
“I don’t know, I don’t want to call myself a terrible talent. It’s cool that they talk about me like that. I think that I would be something even bigger, I need to put in a lot of work to be that way.”
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