Antholz Biathlon: Olympic Sport & Boundary-Pushing Action

EThere are circumstances in life where unreasonableness challenges you. Nothing different has been observed since the beginning of the Winter Olympics in the Puster Valley, where reason crumbles like South Tyrolean Schüttelbrot behind a gate with the large letters “Biathlon Gaudi Dorf”. If you like, behind the gate in the Mittertal district of Antholz, the Olympic spirit culminates with raspberry spirit, a floor made of sneaky wood chips combines fan culture and dating. And just like in the nearby Olympic biathlon stadium, the wild hunt begins again every day.

The search for the much-quoted Olympic spirit was initially difficult. In the long Antholz valley you had to drive quite far up to the remote sporting heart of this region, the biathlon stadium, to get close to it. Further down in the valley, for example in the municipality of Rasen-Antholz or in Antholz-Niedertal, you could sometimes only guess from the occasional flag on the hotel balcony that the Olympics were visiting somewhere in the area. In the town of Oberrasen you were lucky to find a pub that was still open after 7 p.m. But the longer the games lasted, the more word got around: that there was this enclave where real schnitzels were still being served even after midnight.

Unlike other events in Antholz, such as the World Cup, these Olympic competitions and their accompanying events are regulated by the International Olympic Committee. This changes the visit for the audience in that they have to comply with significantly increased security procedures. The buses are checked with mirror devices and sealed with adhesive strips, backpacks and bags are checked. If you want to get to the stadium and back, you have to complete several stages. Queues and traffic jams on the narrow valley road were already common in Antholz, although to a lesser extent than at Olympia. And every minute in a traffic jam is missing from the après biathlon.

For almost half a century, the annual Biathlon World Cup has transformed this rural region into a spectacle. The festival mile used to be spread throughout the entire valley on these days, from Niederrasen to Obertal there were beer cellars where quite a few spectators enjoyed themselves before and especially after visiting the stadium. The pandemic brought change here too, new rules and circumstances changed the social structure. Initially, the usual parties were completely discontinued before a village within a village was established in recent years.

Norwegian Vikings are among the most noticeable guests

In this village, Stefan Weissteiner is now standing behind his open-air counter, sausages steaming in a pot in front of his face. The 35-year-old otherwise runs the Gampiel-Alm in Pfunders in the Zillertal. During the games, he and his team serve all kinds of drinks here until late into the night. The later the evening, the higher the speed. Weissteiner reports that with the increasing ecstasy of biathlon fans, the cellars in town also led to certain issues with local residents. “Here in Gaudidorf, people can party longer at night,” he says. “Lots of people from different countries, that’s what it’s all about here.”

Five huts and several stalls make up the fenced village. Anyone can enter through the entrance gate, without an admission ticket, unlike in the Ruhpolding Champions Park; This concept, which the people of Antholz put together themselves, is a reminder of this, not the IOC. Norwegian Vikings are among the most conspicuous guests here; a wild horde complete with war paint conquers the village almost every day. Swedes, Slovaks, Australians and Italians, South Tyroleans and Germans are in each other’s arms. And the later the evening, the more the wood chip ceiling becomes a trap.

Between the huts and stalls you can find out what lengths some aficionados go to in order to be here. A group from Chiemgau is noticeably busy at the beer stand and reports that they have organized a caravan to spend the night at the Antholz campsite. Rooms in hotels and guesthouses here had been fully booked for a long time. Biathlon fans are not only known for their ability to drink, but also for their creative thinking.

Shortly before the games began, the local press discussed less pleasant topics of the time

Before the first schnitzel was baked here, one had to worry about whether the people of Antholz would actually be able to bake everything this time. Shortly before the games began, the local press discussed less pleasant topics of the time. There was talk of a dispute in which South Tyrol’s history collided with the present. The reason was the new signs at the Olympic competition venues, which did not say Antholz, but rather the Italian name “Anterselva”. More than a hundred-year-old remnants of the post-war period resonated when Austria was forced to cede South Tyrol to Italy against the will of the local population. The farce ended with the German caption being added. And so the games could begin.

The evening turns into night and people now stream from the slippery wood chips into the huts. Here everyone helps out, the operators with the prices and the guests at the bar. Everyone comes together in the village. Italian or South Tyrolean? Nationalities don’t matter, language no longer plays a big role. Anyone who can still speak seriously will no longer be understood anyway, the music is so loud. The biathlon fan is known for one characteristic, says stadium spokesman Stefan Steinacher, he also comes to the Gaudialm from time to time: “Above all, he is colorful.” A discipline that once emerged from the military is breaking boundaries, not just those of reason.