The Story of a Special Biathlon Family | Sachische.D

by Thomas Wolfer

Hochfilgen. Benita Pfeffer does not dare to do a complete interview in German. “I’d prefer it in English,” says the Canadian, smiling friendly in the bitter cold of Ostersund. Unnoticed by the public, the 21-year-old has just made his World Cup debut, and his last name is well known in the biathlon scene. peefer? Absolutely!

“We have the same great-grandfathers,” says Arndt Pfeiffer, and as a proof he painted a family tree that ends in a 19th-century living ancestor. The Olympic champion says that he does not know exactly how the relationship is called. “Maybe third cousin?” Arand and Banita’s grandparents were cousins, the grandparents having once moved to Canada.

“We have met several times. There is regular contact,” says Arndt Pfeiffer, who visited relatives on the sidelines of the 2010 Vancouver Games. “But she was a little girl then,” he recalls. , with the World Cup still on the way, although he ended his career after last season. He is now in his new role as TV specialist for ARD.

Regarding Benita, the former world champion said, “I wish him all the best, who entered the Olympic Winter with places 104, 107 and 87 and finished eleventh in the season.” I am still very nervous before the race, She says. She actually started out as a cross-country skier, but later couldn’t find a trainer and switched to ski hunting. “I really can’t handle the pressure yet.” But She also gets suggestions from her family. “Arand is a role model for me, and he always helps me,” says Banita. “We write to each other, exchange ideas.”

She would love to emulate her “cousin”, as Banita herself repeatedly said in reference to the sport at some point. “A World Cup win and a couple of Olympic medals would be great,” says the Canadian, who then persuades the ARD reporter to have a short conversation in German.

Although the young athlete regrets that the two missed out on a year at the World Cup, the veteran Pfeffer does not regret the end of his career a year before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. “The feeling of a good race is accustomed, and that is missing. But I have more to it. Less pressure, less time in the summer, less torture,” said the ten-time World Cup winner.

“Long and exciting” is how Peifer calls her first day at her new job on television. “It was definitely exciting to watch the whole process. This is totally new for me. The five-time world champion and Pyeongchang Olympic sprint gold winner was delighted to see many old friends reunited in Sweden. “But it’s also nice that it’s not every weekend,” Pfeffer says. He won’t be in every World Cup for long, instead he will spend a lot of time with his family. “It’s a remedy that’s totally great. I’m sticking to it a little bit,” he says.

Now the Lower Saxons have to make a habit of keeping a serious eye on their long-term peers from time to time. “I try to be very factual, so that’s fine. I look forward to their response,” Pfeffer says: “Of course, you see exactly what I’m doing. If I make a wrong formulation or mistake I am, then they will put it on my bread.”

“Initially to be in top form, to be there and compete with others,” he says, remembers it a bit and then evaluates realistically: “But that’s no longer possible. Once you If you stop, you never get back to that level. But that’s okay too.” And for now, Peiffer’s name won’t completely disappear from the results list. (DPA)