The first stop in the 2022/23 biathlon season will be Kontiolahti, Finland from 29 November to 4 December 2022.

The biathletes have nine World Cup rounds ahead of them, including the New Town round from 2 to 5 March. The highlight of the season in the form of the World Championships will take place from 8 to 19 February in Oberhof.  “We have completed a generational change in the men’s team and we also have an excellent women’s team led by Markéta Davidová,” says Jiří Hamza, the head of the federation. Michal Krčmář (31) among the men and Markéta Davidová (25) among the women remain the leaders of the national team, but overall the A-team is already dominated by recent or still current juniors.  In addition to Davidová, the 2021 women’s world endurance champion, two current junior world champions, Tereza Voborníková (22) and Jonáš Mareček (21), will also be represented. The men’s team will be led by Michal Málek instead of Ondrej Rybar, who was with the team in 2016-2018. And for the first time, the Czechs will have a purely shooting coach, Olympic champion Matt Emmons. He has extensive experience of working with American biathletes.

 “The preparation was done without any serious health problems, which is the basis of everything,” Hamza emphasizes. “This year and next season we will be aiming primarily for the 2024 World Championships in Novo Mesto, where the pressure for medals will certainly be greater than thirteen years ago, when we were happy for one bronze. We are entering an Olympic cycle where we expect results to go up.”

JK