The newcomer...
...but with many experiences. She was only 17 when she did some races
at her first Olympic Games in Vancouver.
So what´s new on her? Former
cross-country skier now carries a rifle on her back in her first World Cup
season. Following her dream. Being a part of strong Slovenian team. Maybe you
will meet her in your country, because she loves travelling. Now you can meet
her in our talk. Anja Eržen exclusively
for Biathlonum. For you.
- It all started when I was in 3th grade and our school took us on winter vacation to Planica, where we were
spending a lot of time in the nature and also learning some cross-country
skiing. I was really good at it and my uncle was/is a biathlete, so this sport
was always close to me.
- When I was a child I wanted to be a biathlete. My uncle was really good at the time
and I wanted to be just like him. But cross-country skiing sort of pulled me in
and I was a very good classic skier. It took some time for me to realize that I
should follow my childhood-dreams.
- There are no regrets at all that I change cross-country skiing for biathlon. I sort of lost my
motivation in cross-country skiing in last few years and there were a lot of
skiers who decided to end their careers. I didn’t want to become one of them. I
put too much effort and time in this sport and I didn’t want to throw it all
away.
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| Source: www.biathlon-pokljuka.com |
- I couldn’t be happier that I became a biathlete. But I didn’t make my decision because of
my family. I actually hated it when they were constantly bothering me with
biathlon, especially my grand-parents. I wanted to make my own decisions.
- I wasn’t really sad about not participating at the Olympics in Sochi. I was sad that I couldn’t be with my
team. In Vancouver I was 17 years old and it was my job to get some
experiences. At the next Olympics I want to do some results, not to be just a
‘’tourist’’. But I did watch the Games, cheer for our athletes and bit my
nails.
- I always liked hard tracks with uphills more. In biathlon of course, because it’s my
first year, I prefer prone shooting because it’s easier but it’s my plan to
change that to liking both.
- I
love Hochfilzen, I like the tracks and the atmosphere but the uphill before
the shooting was a little bit too much for me in the first season. I also like
to compete in Oslo, I love the landscape and I did some pretty good results
there as a cross-country skier at the World Championship in 2011. And of course
it’s fun to race at home, so Pokljuka would also be one of my favourite
stadiums.
-
Some wind and cold temperatures on the
day of the race could make me a little bit moody but as soon as I stand at
the start-line those feelings go away. I also like to listen to some good music
and enjoy some time with teammates whose amazing results give me a lot of
motivation.
- I didn’t expect to start World Cup in this season at all so I was pretty happy about
competing on all stadiums. I was also satisfied with my participation in pursuit.
Unfortunately right before the Olympics I got a virus, which took me 2 months
to get rid of. So my goals for the season 2014/15 would be: stay healthy, shoot
better and faster and be more competitive in skiing.
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| Enjoying Oslo city during last World Cup 2013/2014 |
- I haven’t really made plans for vacation yet. First I need to have a small procedure
in a hospital, where I will stay for about 1 week. Then I’ll take some time for
my family, friends and school and after… Well, we’ll see. I was thinking about
going to London or Prague. In my future I would also like to visit America,
Thailand, Australia… Hmm, there are many places I would like to go to one day.
- Being only the ordinary fan of biathlon I would cheer for Slovenian team, all of them of course and also for
some biathletes from other countries. My family and my friends have always been
my biggest support and I am thanking them for that.
- If I would choose idols in
sport, they would be my uncle Janez Marič, Teja Gregorin and
Jakov Fak. Otherwise my mom is really the person who I respect and look up to. She
is an amazing hard-working woman, great mother and my best friend.
- I haven’t had any funny moments
during my short biathlon career in the
competitions, thank god, but I did have some on trainings. I was shooting Klemen
Bauer’s targets.
 |
| Team Slovenia: Teja Gregorin, Klemen Bauer, Anja Erzen, Jakov Fak, Simon Kocevar and Janez Maric. |
- When my skis and rifle
are taking a break, I try to sleep
as long as I can in the mornings but it doesn’t really work out for me. Then I make some good
coffee and breakfast and read some newspaper. After that I take my dog out and
go to my grand-father’s house for some chat and more coffee. In the afternoon I
like to spend some time with my friends in Bled. In the evenings it’s usually
time for a good movie. I also like to take some trips, they could be to
Ljubljana to see an improvisation-show or to mountains to do some backcountry
skiing. It depends on the weather and my mood.
- I do knit a lot during the
winter season, it relaxes me. This year I
had a lot of work with teaching Teja and Andreja. It was fun, they are very
good students. Together with my friend from cross-country skiing we were
thinking also about our own handmade clothing brand. But it would take a lot of
time, which I don’t really have, to make it happen.
- If I could bake something special for my fans, I would probably use my grand-father’s
recipe for walnut-brownie. It’s really good and it succeeds every time.
- I definitely want to achieve good results in biathlon, that’s my first priority right now. I
also want to graduate, do some travelling, have family and a good career after
the sport. To make it simple: I just want to enjoy my life.
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