The role of nutrition in biathlon

You don't read as often about nutrition in biathlon as you do about nutrition in a marathon, but it still plays a central role in both sports. Both marathon runners and biathletes can support and promote performance, health and recovery through a balanced diet tailored to the training load. That is also why I work in biathlon. Therefore also my motivation to support biathletes in the area of nutrition with my knowledge and experience.

It's been more than three years since I agreed to support the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in the area of nutrition. A lot has happened. Coaches courses, competition organization, information materials, camps. Nutrition on many levels, nutrition in many ways, nutrition as part of biathlon.

Journal of Biathlon Coaching

The first two issues of the Journal of Biathlon Coaching were published this year. In the first issue nutrition was part of the content. This shows that awareness of the important role of nutrition has now also reached biathlon. What, when and how much are key questions when it comes to energy and nutrient intake. In addition to the totals of the intake in one day, the timing between nutrient intake and training also plays an important role at the highest level of performance. The right food at the right time might make that decisive difference. The article in issue 1 shows, for example, what needs to be considered on a competition day in order to achieve the best result.

Nutrition in everyday training

However, before the competition starts, many hours of training dominate the program. These are hours in which nutrition plays an important role. How do you prepare for training as an athlete? What is the best way to fuel during training? Do biathletes also need the 90-120 g carbohydrates per hour that cyclists consume on the bike? Is a gel really necessary or are there any alternatives? What distinguishes training in summer from training in winter and are there any differences at all? What is the best way to recover and what role does nutrition play in this? Do you need supplements or can you feel alright without them?

Observations show that some of these questions are not so easy to answer and, above all, not so easy to implement. Adequate care in everyday training is not that easy. Some athletes were never taught this knowledge or never had the opportunity to work with experts. Others may have the knowledge but not the necessary skills to put it into practice. If the needs is not met by the appropriate calorie intake, problems can arise. Health, performance, wellbeing can suffer as a result. Often in this context we read about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (REDs). The consequences of this syndrome can be detrimental for those affected.

The quality of nutrition is also important. Anyone who trains a lot therefore needs a lot of nutrients and their requirements should be met by the high quality of their diet. Numerous examples from top-class sport show that it is possible to meet requirements through a good diet. Food first is not just my philosophy, this approach is a very important one in modern sports nutrition because it prevents many potential problems with frequent use of dietary supplements. However, the food first approach becomes challenging when it comes to a very poor or restricted diet. With better nutritional knowledge and the support of sports nutrition experts, however, this will hopefully become a rarer problem in biathlon anyway.

Good future prospects

As in many other sports, nutritional awareness has also grown significantly in biathlon. Athletes have recognized the role of nutrition, and there are now many coaches who also see nutrition as an important part of success. This gives nutrition more room for consideration. Experts with appropriate training and expertise in sports nutrition are brought into teams. As a result, very positive developments are taking place in some areas. As a result, more and more biathletes have the opportunity to get support as well. It is important that athletes know who they can contact if they have questions or problems. It is also important that biathletes have a basic knowledge of nutrition in sport, because there are already many benefits from a good basic nutrition knowledge.

At the IBU, we have already held several camps in the last years and more are already being planned. Ideas for information materials and continuing education opportunities never end, so everyone in the biathlon community can constantly expand their knowledge. My goal is and remains to support biathletes on their journey. Nutrition impacts so many areas that success in the modern sports world is no longer possible without it. We know so much and have learned so many new details in the last 20 years that nutrition has become an integral part of biathlon as well.

The recently recorded video interview with Biathlon Integrity provides an insight into nutrition.