Another eventful season has come to an end. It is time for a summary.

After very good training in the spring, summer and autumn, I felt well prepared for the start of the season. Admittedly, I caught a cold close to the “sesongstart” at Sjusjøen, so I only did one race there to carefully build up my body for the World Cup opening instead. I came in third at Sjusjøen, which exceeded all expectations and gave me the confirmation that the work I had put in this year was good.

The first race in the World Cup was the Individual in Kontiolahti and here I managed the feat of shooting 20 hits and with that my first top 10 result was a fact! A big goal this season, so it was very rewarding to manage to do so this early in the season. In the next World Cup round in Hochfilzen, I delivered a career best in the sprint race with 15th place and a short way up to the best. Here I also felt that my shape was becoming a lot better, and I had high hopes for the pursuit. Unfortunately, I cracked on the first standing shooting and was very disappointed. At the same time, there have not been many occasions that I could enter the shooting lanes this far to the right during a pursuit. Probably felt a bit of pressure.. The last weekend before Christmas offered very strange conditions on the track in Le Grand Bornand, which I was not quite able to solve well enough. This left me as the first substitute for the mass start. But no one chose to pass, so unfortunately no mass start for me. Small margins..

During the Christmas break, I first had a good rest at my grandparents' in Belgium before I went to Lillehammer to put in a strong training period.

In the new year, the World Cup started again in Slovenian Pokljuka. As expected after a lot of training at the end of the Christmas break, I wasn't in my best shape yet. But, race by race, my body gradually got better, which meant that I had high hopes and expectations for the remaining World Cup rounds before the WC. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in Ruhpolding, I fell ill and tested positive for covid-19. This was a hard candy to swallow and I was uncertain for several weeks whether my body would be able to return to its old good shape this season.

I tried to focus on the things I could do something about and opened the world championships in Oberhof beyond all expectations. 21st place in the sprint was my best position this championship and I am very proud of that achievement. During the championships I quickly felt that my body did not respond as normal both during and after the competitions, so the last races were hard, both physically and mentally. But all in all, I was just happy that I had made it to the start again.

After a short trip home to recharge the batteries as best as possible it was time for the last trimester of the season. In Nove Mesto, my body was still unrecognizable and after talking to the coach, we decided to try out a different training method at the end of the season to see if this could have a positive effect on my shape. And it did, so on the last sprint in Holmenkollen I finally had the feeling that I could push my body again over a longer period. And that feeling continued when I participated in the Norwegian Championships in Alta a week later. But, it can be like this in biathlon: when the physical part starts to loosen, the shooting doesn't quite fit anymore, so in terms of results, my performance wasn't quite perfect. In any case, I will take with me the feeling of a growing physical shape into the season break in April.