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Germany's Selina Grotian crosses the finish line after the Biathlon Women's 10 km pursuit at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
German biathlete Selina Grotian has voiced disappointment about poor results at her first Olympics and the Games experience as a whole.
"My first Olympic Games are over — and honestly, they were disappointing for me both athletically and personally," Grotian said on Instagram.
Looking at the Olympic experience, she said: "The magic of the rings, the coming together of athletes, the spirit ... it never really reached me. It felt more like a very long World Cup with more media attention."
The Games in Italy are very spread out and the biathletes in Anterselva had no proper athletes' village and were also unable to watch other sports.
Grotian, 21, is one of Germany's biggest biathlon talents. The former multiple junior world champion has won a World Cup race and has two relay events bronze medals from world championships.
But her best result from three races at the Milan/Cortina Games was 41st in the pursuit, after 52nd in the sprint and 55th in the 15km, with at least three missed targets in every race the main reason for the below-par results.
She was not nominated for the relay later on Wednesday and has not qualified for the concluding mass start.
"Going into the Games I had big goals. Since my COVID infection my form had been steadily improving and our preparation went quite well. I wanted to show what I’m capable of, because I’ve proven at World Championships that it’s possible," Grotian said.
"But nothing really came together," she said in reference to the pursuit and general performance.
"I’m honestly searching for answers. Did the altitude affect me more after COVID than expected? Normally I handle altitude well. And on the range nothing worked the way it usually does."
Grotian concluded: "Not the experience I dreamed of — but still part of the journey. I’ll learn from it and come back stronger."
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