During the season, biathletes need to focus on their diets, as their overall athletic performance depends on how well they fuel their body. Biathletes should focus on the quality of food they eat and refuel when their body needs it. A good mixture of enough carbohydrates and proteins is crucial: carbohydrates give your body the energy it needs, and protein helps to repair and build muscle.

However, it’s important to find a balance between following a diet and allowing room for comfort eating: With the 2022-23 season having reached its conclusion, BIU Athlete Ambassadors for integrity matters Anastasiya Merkushyna (Ukraine) and Sebastian Samuelsson (Sweden) are encouraging athletes to drop the diets, eat healthily – and relax.

Sebastian said: “As a biathlete your body is what you work with. Therefore, it’s important what you eat. But I also like to relax a lot and spring is a time where you don’t have to think about dieting at all!”

The off season is also the time where you can do something for your mental health and wellbeing, and therefor Anastasia states: “We need good food to top up our energy levels, but in spring we also need to think about our mental health, and sometimes the easiest way to do that is just to eat food that is delicious without worrying about how much we eat.”