“And when the weather is really bad and we’re all sitting on the couch as a family, my kids find competitions on TV completely boring. Then they ask, ‘Can’t we put something else on?'” said the 36-year-old. one-year-old girl, mother of three children.

The former world-class biathlete, who retired in early 2012, recalls the moments after the competition. “Then I thought that I would leave and everything would be the same as before. I just wanted to be able to be at home, without people standing in my garden, without the doorbell ringing 15 times a day, without being stalked by stalkers and without having to constantly give interviews. “I was hoping for some kind of normalcy. It took a lot of time,” he said Nines.

“Little Country Girl”

“Especially in the first days when I came to this biathlon circus, it was incredibly difficult to be authentic. I was quickly classified. I was a little girl from the countryside who loved to knit, do crafts and play the harp,” Neuner said. and admitted: “I struggled a lot with what people wanted me to be. Because I was more than the image they had of me. At some point I just rose above it, and now I won’t bend to anyone. I’m just who I am.”

The Upper Bavarian also spoke about winter sports in times of climate change. “It’s more difficult now than it was 20 years ago. I come from a winter sports region, but last year I only got to cross-country ski four times because there was simply no snow. I could go to Seefeld, but I had doubts: I want to travel 25 kilometers with him. “Do you have to drive an hour to go skiing?” Neuner said.

“At the same time, there is no need to deceive yourself. There’s a lot of discussion about winter sports, but it’s not just about angry professional athletes. The big ski resorts, whether in Allgäu or Austria, have been prepared and the lifts will be operational by December at the latest,” said the 36-year-old.
© dpa

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