I ended 2023 spending Christmas with my boyfriend, brothers, and parents in Livigno, and then competing at the Biathlon Team Challenge auf Schalke, which is a show race inside the Schalke 04 football stadium. The event was an amazing experience and I'll never forget the electric atmosphere created by having so many spectators so close to the arena. The entire concept is exciting and it was a wonderful way to finish the year. 

On New Year's Eve I was in Oberhof as it is the site of 2024's first world cup races. I traveled there immediately following the event in Schalke to get settled into a good rhythm before starting the world cup circus again. In Oberhof I raced the sprint and the pursuit, finishing 22nd and 26th respectively. My shape was good, especially in the pursuit, but I couldn't quite get the targets to fall on the shooting range. The plan is to work on some small details with my rifle, which weren't quite right, towards the next races. Overall, I'm satisfied with my weekend, though not necessarily the results. Oberhof has never been my favorite track, so taking this into consideration there are positives that I'll take with me to Rupholding and Anterselva, two tracks that suit me a bit better. It was nice to experience that the training I did after catching corona in Lenzerheide was working and that the body has responded well, especially because much of my recovery took place at high altitude in Livigno.. So far it seems like everything has turned out positively!

At the time of writing I am on my way from Oberhof to Rupholding for the next round of world cup races--hopefully the next blog entry will include some good results!