Biathlon skier Otto Invenius isn’t afraid to voice his tough goals. With three weeks to go until the World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, Invenius is ready to rock.
– When everything goes well, I believe that I could be there with medals. Of course, I hope that everything would go smoothly, but first you have to reach the top 10, then the top 6 and then the medals, he stated.
Finland’s most successful biathlon athlete of all time and Urheilu’s expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen in my opinion, it is often easy for athletes to threaten and throw tough goals into the air, but Invenius has an attitude.
– I think the most important thing is that behind such speeches there are also actions. I think Oto has a very good attitude. He does things professionally and specifically aiming for results. When they will come or if they will come, that remains to be seen, Mäkäräinen said in Urheilustudio.
The 23-year-old Invenius once dazzled in the youth leagues, when he achieved bronze in the under-19 World Championships and silver in the under-23 World Championships. Plakkari also has two youth European silver medals from the under-23 series.
Last season, Invenius broke into the public’s consciousness by finishing 12th in the sprint race at the Oslo World Cup.
– That kind of ranking doesn’t come by accident, what Otto was able to show last spring and winter in Oslo. There were also other smooth races from him, and it was clear that his skiing speed was quite sufficient for an athlete of his age, Mäkäräinen reminded.
Not in the best shape yet
This week at the World Cup in Anterselva, Invenius improved his career’s best ranking a couple of times.
He was 11th on the normal distance, although he thought his skiing speed was not the best possible. The shooting accuracy, on the other hand, has increased since last season, and the shooting result was 19/20 even in the normal competition.
In Sunday’s joint start race, he was tenth, even though he fell on the last downhill.
Invenius admitted that the race week in Anterselva has been by far the best of his career. According to him, the confidence to do things goes back to summer training.
– Everything went as it should in the summer. In the fall, there were some difficulties with the strain, but it has improved since then. The trainings have gone well and I have stayed healthy, he said.
– I know that even in previous years the seasons have been on the rise, so I believe that this good trend will continue for some time. I don’t think I’m at my best yet. Isn’t it even harder to go?
Invenius believes that he has the will to win inside him, which has carried him forward. When you work hard, you want to see the result. Head coach of the national team By Erik Kulstad according to Invenius, he is currently the athlete who is the hungriest.
– He is ready to adapt and ready to try new things. Full throttle, that’s how he works. When you are a hungry athlete and ready to learn everything, there will be development, Kulstad said.
According to Kulstad, anything can happen at the World Cup, at least his protege has confidence. The same can be seen from Invenius’ own comments.
– These are still not the places I want to be, Invenius said.
Brutal training amounts
Invenius has sought inspiration for its training from a Swede From Nils van der Poel, which was known for brutal training. Invenius may also practice cycling, roller skiing and running for 6–7 hours a day during the basic fitness season.
The amount of training may sound drastic, but it does not surprise Urheilu’s experts Mäkäräi and From Ville Nousiai.
– They are relatively normal bets in the summer season, but not every week’s oats. If it was every day or every week throughout the fall, it would take a lot of recovery time from the so-called effective training, which in turn moves the race pace forward, Nousiainen said at the Sports Studio.
According to Mäkäräinen, there were already signs of Invenius’ good mood in the SC roller skating competitions and in the mutual competitions at the camps. In his opinion, it is natural that Invenius’ results will improve as the season progresses.
– If there has been a lot of training load in the summer and the training load clearly decreases in the winter, when you just start competing, then the result will slowly start to improve.
This season, Invenius has grabbed hold of the mantle of Finland’s number one athlete in biathlon, and this does not scare the young athlete.
– Haven’t seen the cloak yet, but we’ll see, he laughed.
Update at 3:19 p.m.: Added the results of Otto Invenius’ joint start race and comments after the race, as well as Erik Kulstad’s comments.