THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

IBU EVENTS IBU VERANSTALTUNGENteam had to offer. Reka Ferencz’ victory in theIndividual competition was sporting history inthe writing for her home country of Romaniaand only one of the many anecdotesworth mentioning from the Y/JWCH inTorsby. This was the first time ever thata Romanian athlete had stood at thetop of the podium and there was noshortage of tears when the nationalanthem began to play.It was also theY/JWCH of theNorwegians whoimproved enormouslyand hitform towards the end of thechampionships, whereby SynnoeveSolemdal did not only impresswith her speed, but also with her likeablecharacter. Turkey also made animpression at the WCH, with the remarkabletalent of Civil Orhangazi at the startand athletes who never seemed to give up nomatter how far they were behind. It was also theWCH of Chardine Sloof from the Netherlands andher happy smile, who goes to school in Torsby of all placesand was able to secure an eighth place finish on her “hometrack”. The Swedes too celebrated some medals: In IngelaAndersson, the ‘Tre Kronor’ team has a strong biathletewho could soon follow in the footsteps of Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidekand Helena Jonsson.Further highlights were the consistent performances ofthe Pole Monika Hojnisz; the outstanding skiing of DominikWindisch from South Tyrol (unfortunately accompanied bynot so outstanding shooting at the range); and surprisesfrom Belarus and Austria (the Junior World Champion inthe Individual competition Martin Maier had never beforein his life hit all twenty targets!). But there were also bittertears that were shedafter a disqualification andlost Sprint. That was all alsopart of these Youth and JuniorWorld Championships,which showed that youngathletes still have plenty tolearn.The detailed results of thecompetitions can be foundelsewhere, it is the atmosphereand scenes that madethe IBU Youth and Junior World Championshipsso special that should be mentioned here.That also included the extremely early andquiet evenings after the competitions(Scandinavia is simply different, somethingthat we central Europeans mustfirst learn), some funny scenes atthe Team Captain’s Meetings,the always fittingly preparedand so important pressconferences after eachcompetition and thecooperation of all thestaff and helpers intheir dark blue jackets,who always had a smile ontheir faces.Personally, I will always rememberone particular scene that I observedon the course and that really showedhow well the IBU Youth and Junior WorldChampionships were received in the Swedishtown of Torsby: There was a father whocame to see the Women’s Sprint with his children.Equipped with the start list, they proceededto call out the name of every single athlete that passedthem – regardless of whether from Kazakhstan, Norway,Germany, Canada or Finland – cheering them on with loudcheers and support, and offering a loud, mental ‘energyboost’. Biathlon can bring people together; that was somethingelse that could be learnt during the ten days in Torsby.Being there was simply a fascinating experience. •Aus insgesamt 11 Ländern kamen die Medaillengewinnerbei den diesjährigen IBU Jugend- und Junioren-Weltmeisterschaftenim schwedischen Torsby. Die Meisterschaftenwurden zu einem Fest der Jugend aus aller Welt.Elena BADANINA – RUSPursuit Junior Men:Verfolgung Junioren:Vladimir ALENISHKO – BLRManuel MÜLLER – GEREvgeny PETROV – RUSReka FERENCZ – ROUright / rechtsThe official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010 biathlonworld 29