Earthquake in Czech biathlon! Nora replaces the Italian, a legend returns to the team

The union is already forming a coaching staff with a view to the Olympic Games in Italy in 2026. “We felt that after an unsuccessful season, the national team needed a new impetus. And two years before the Olympic Games is the last chance to take such a step,” declared the president of the union, Jiří Hamza.

Despite the home world championship in Nové Město na Moravá, the Czech biathletes experienced a season without brilliant success. However, they never once stood on the podium, which has not happened to them for fourteen years. And so the head of the union announced the changes already at the end of the world championship.

The first occurred in the form of the departure of shooting coach Matthew Emmons, who decided to resign after two years, although the question is whether he would be able to withstand the deteriorating shooting of almost the entire team. At the end of April, a more fundamental change was announced. Egil Gjelland quits after six years with the Norwegian women’s national team. Under his leadership, Markéta Davidová won the title of world champion and a small crystal globe, Lucie Charvátová won world bronze.

The union leadership reached out to him in 2018, when he became the first foreign coach, and also hunted for his successor abroad, who does not have such a rich coaching resume as the 50-year-old Gjelland. The name Bormolini is better known in Czech biathlon thanks to his brother Thomas, the partner of former Czech representative Eva Puskarčíková, to whom a son Paride was born in April.

Thirty-seven-year-old Luca is Thomas’ older sibling, he also comes from Livigno and lived up to his reputation as a talent in the junior categories. However, after an injury in 2010, he started training at a young age, he worked as a trainer for the International Biathlon Union, but so far he has been collecting exotic engagements in biathlon. He led the team of New Zealand, South Korea, Australia and Brazil.

Now he faces a much more demanding biathlon test, with the aim of returning Davidová et al. again closer to the medal positions. Lukáš Dostál will help him in this as an equal second coach. The 31-year-old native of Nové Město na Moravě also represented as a junior, then worked his way up to head coach at the Letohrad club and last season also worked as an assistant with the junior team.

“We are looking towards the future and giving opportunities to young coaches. I believe that we managed to put together an energetic team that will work well together,” explained sports director Ondřej Rybář. Jiří Holubec, who led the women’s B team, is saying goodbye to his coaching career.

Michael Málek remains as coach of the men’s team, but Ondřej Moravec, a three-time Olympic medalist from Sochi, will join him!

He ended his career three years ago, but he was still involved in his fateful sport. Whether in the role of a team mentor, a TV expert, or an adviser to the junior national team. He resisted closer cooperation for a long time because of his other activities.

“It seems to me that working with juniors makes sense, even if it’s not entirely conceptual, if I don’t have time during the winter. But I decided on the Skialp for schools project and I can’t let it sit, it’s simply not done,” he told Sport.cz during the world championship in Nové Město, Moravia. In the end, however, he found a way to combine his activities with the union leadership.

“After discussions with Jiří Hamza and Ondřej Rybář, I felt that there was interest in me. And I myself perceived that now was the right moment to return. A lot of work can still be done in the two preparatory periods before the Olympics,” believes the 39-year-old Moravian.

During the preparation, Málek and Moravec will be helped by Aleš Ligaun and former world championship medalist Zdeněk Vítek, who led the women’s national team before Gjelland. Both will then lead the team for the IBU Cup.

The national team has expanded to fifteen members, they will start training in May in Nové Město na Morava and in Staré Město pod Landštejnem. Any additions to the implementation team and the composition of the service should be known by the end of May.