THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

PERSONALITIES PersönlichkeitenDarya Domrachevaered his eyes, reflecting both his disappointment andsympathy for his prize pupil. Siebert said her shootingsuccess has not come easily. “It has taken a lot of hardwork to become as good as she is now. She does havesome talent in shooting; some people can shoot for yearsand never become that good. Darya has the ability to learnfrom her mistakes; every time she has a small setback,she comes back stronger.”Domracheva generously gives the credit for her successto him. “Klaus Siebert is one of the best specialists in theworld in biathlon shooting. He is confident in his work andwe feel the confidence that he gives us. When things donot go well, he tells me to look forward. So on the nextstart, I forget about what happened and think about thenext race.”She has learned that shooting is more than just squeezingthe trigger. She explained, “It has been just work, work,and more work; everyday, with my mind as well as mybody. In biathlon, it is very important to work inside yourhead, your psyche.”That mind/body work made her a big star in Belaruswhen she won that Bronze medal back in February. In lessthan an hour she went from promising newcomer to a fastskiing,19-of-20 shooting Olympic medalist. Yet, prior tothe Olympic Games, she was unfazed by the hype and pressure.She said, acting out the nervousness of others, “Beforethe Olympic Games, people acted like it was sucha big deal and I should be nervous. But I did notfeel this pressure. It was just a start like everyweek; the same people and I just did the samethings like in every race.”“When I realized that I won a medal, myfirst thought was, ‘Yes, I did it.’ The hardwork that I had done had brought a greatresult.”That day, she admitted that winningthe medal had been a bit of a struggle. “Itwas a hard day for me with a lot of strivingand struggle. The struggle was within me;struggling with the distance and the shooting,all within myself, not my competitors.”Yet, Domracheva had a premonition that amedal was in the cards for her that day, stating atthe Olympic press conference, “Normally, I neverthink about places or medals. However, yesterday, Ireceived an e-mail from a fan who told me to be strong;that he had a true dream that I would win a Bronze medal.It did turn out to be a dream come true.”Of course, everyone was thrilled at her success, especiallySiebert. At the finish line, he screamed, “Super! Super!I cannot believe this!”The medal was an emotional experience for both Domrachevaand her family. She explained, “My family was sohappy; my mother just screamed with joy. She was just sohappy. The Olympic medal was for my father, who is notaround. He was very important to my biathlon career andmy life. He was always there for me and this medal wasfor him.”That emotional Olympic experience was a springboardfor her first World Cup victories in Kontiolahti. However,she explained that her preparation for the final World Cupswas not perfect. “After the Olympics, I just trained at Raubichi,which was not easy . . . There were too many pressconferences and too many journalists. It was too muchattention. The big time change from Vancouver to Minskmade me sleepy in the day and awake at night. Leavingfrom Minsk to go to Kontiolahti, I sat down in the airplaneThe official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010 biathlonworld 59