Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof (Germany), women – 15 km endurance race, 15 February. Markéta Davidová from the Czech Republic.
Oberhof (Germany) – Markéta Davidová entered the endurance race at the World Championship in Oberhof with the gold number of the defending champion, but at the finish line she had to settle for 10th place. The 26-year-old biathlete from Janova nad Nisou, who was troubled by problems with her vocal cords, paid for three penalty minutes and was not even satisfied with the eleventh running time. She told reporters that lackluster performances on the track affect her on the shooting range as well.
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“Of course, I'm not satisfied. I'm probably not in ideal running shape here, and I think it's knocking me down a little mentally even in shooting. In short, it won't be an extra super result,” said Davidová. “Before each shooting, I try to concentrate as much as possible, but now my head is a bit of a mess,” she added.
Before the start of the race, she had problems with her vocal cords. According to her words, she could not even speak in the morning. However, when asked if the difficulties affected her performance, she replied: “I'd like to say yes, but probably not.”
Apart from the vocal problems, he is fit. “I don't feel that I should be sick. Of course, I don't enjoy it when it hurts to talk. So, of course, it's not ideal either,” she explained. She does not benefit from wearing masks and respirators. “I had it in Ridnaun, then it got better and since yesterday it's even worse. It's hard to say. I'm doing everything to make it better. But nothing really helped,” she noted.
The eighth woman in the ranking At the World Cup, she made one mistake on the first three items. She cleaned up to the last “stand” one hundred percent. “I should have reacted to the first lay. There I thought it would be a click to the left. That one shot went to the right. I don't know much about the others,” she said.
Due to the changeable wind, the other competitors also made mistakes. “But it wasn't easy mainly on the track. That might show a little bit on the shooting range as well. If you felt better, maybe the three would be fine too. But since I get a lot of work on the track, I can't afford so many mistakes,” she said Davidová.
She let go of memories of the two-year-old victory in Pokljuka and the current defense. She clearly didn't even notice the golden number on the jersey. “I think I've dealt with it quite well. I told myself that it doesn't really matter what I'm wearing. But I'm sorry. Like you, I came here with ambitions for slightly higher places. I'm sorry that even if I give two zeros in the sprint, so I'm not in optimal running shape and I didn't make better use of that chance,” she said.
David now has two days off, followed by Saturday's women's relay and Sunday's race with a mass start. In addition to Michal Krčmář, the coaches nominated Tereza Voborníková for Thursday's mixed doubles relay. David welcomed it. “I like challenges, but I don't know if this would be an unnecessarily big bite,” she added.
