07/04/2026
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Medaļas un pÄrrakstÄ«ta vÄsture
VienkÄrÅ”i pÄrsteidzoÅ”a sezona! ā pasaules biatlona elitÄ daudzsoloÅ”i sevi pieteikusÄ« Estere Volfa neslÄpj, ka tik straujÅ” karjeras kÄpums vienas sezonas laikÄ arÄ« viÅai bijis pÄrsteigums. Ā«Pirms sezonas es necerÄju, ka Å”Äds varÄtu bÅ«t iznÄkums. SÄkot jau no Eiropas junioru ÄempionÄta un beidzot ar pasaules junioru ÄempionÄtu, izdevÄs izpildÄ«t visu, uz ko biju nomÄrÄ·Äjusi. Sezona izvÄrtÄs panÄkumiem bagÄta.Ā»
SacensÄ«bu lÄ«meÅi krasi atŔķirÄs, sÄkot no IBU junioru kausa posma sacensÄ«bÄm MadonÄ lÄ«dz konkurÄÅ”anai ar pasaules elites biatlonistÄm skatÄ«tÄju tÅ«kstoÅ”u ieskautajÄ olimpisko spÄļu trasÄ AntholcÄ. Uz vieniem svaru kausiem attiecÄ«gi arÄ« ir neiespÄjami izvÄrtÄt Esteres paveikto. OlimpiskajÄs spÄlÄs, finiÅ”Äjot 11. pozÄ«cijÄ iedzÄ«Å”anas sacÄ«kstÄ, Volfa sasniedza otru visu laiku augstÄko vietu Latvijas biatlona sievieÅ”u komandÄ aiz Madaras LÄ«dumas, kura 2006. gadÄ uzrÄdÄ«ja 10. rezultÄtu individuÄlajÄ distancÄ. Junioru maÄos sÄncenses nebija tik spÄcÄ«gas kÄ pieauguÅ”o lÄ«menÄ«, toties lielÄku spiedienu nÄcÄs izturÄt no malas, jo pÄc daudzsoloÅ”ajiem pieteikumiem uz biatlona lielÄs skatuves palikÅ”ana Ärpus trijnieka, konkurÄjot ar vienaudzÄm, jau tiktu uztverta kÄ neveiksme. Volfa nelika vilties. No Eiropas junioru ÄempionÄta Somijas pilsÄtÄ ImatrÄ mÄjup tika atvesta viena zelta un divas bronzas, no pasaules junioru ÄempionÄta ÄrberÄ (VÄcija) ā divas zelta un viena sudraba medaļa. Pirmo reizi Latvijas biatlona vÄsturÄ pasaules junioru ÄempionÄtÄ tika izcÄ«nÄ«tas godalgas.
PanÄkumu pamatÄ vispirms esot treniÅos ieguldÄ«tais darbs. Ā«ÄŖpaÅ”i es gribÄtu uzsvÄrt pÄdÄjo trÄ«s gadu sadarbÄ«bu ar treneri IlmÄru Brici. Darbs mums ir bijis ļoti augstÄ lÄ«menÄ«. PÄdÄjÄ gada laikÄ esmu pacÄlusies vienu lÄ«meni augstÄk, jo trenÄjos kopÄ ar Baibu Bendiku. IeÅemtÄs vietas sacensÄ«bÄs noteikti nav sagadÄ«Å”anÄs vai veiksmes faktors, jo patieÅ”Äm ir daudz strÄdÄts. Man paÅ”ai treniÅi vairs neŔķiet tik grÅ«ti, jo esmu jau pie Å”Äda režīma pieradusi ā tÄ ir mana ikdiena.Ā»
Volfa iepriecinÄja gan ar Ätru soli distancÄ, gan ar precizitÄti ugunslÄ«nijÄ. Å auÅ”anas tehniku jaunÄ biatloniste slÄ«pÄja ukraiÅu speciÄlista Vasila MukÅ”ina uzraudzÄ«bÄ. Ā«JÄ, pilnÄ«gi noteikti esmu gandarÄ«ta, ka progress nav tikai fiziskajÄ sagatavotÄ«bÄ, bet arÄ« Å”auÅ”anÄ. Paldies Å”auÅ”anas trenerim, ka salÄ«dzinoÅ”i Ä«sÄ laika periodÄ ir jau redzams rezultÄts. Å ajÄ ziÅÄ gan var teikt, ka ir nedaudz paveicies, jo Ätri uztvÄru trenera prasÄ«bas un ieguvu pÄrliecÄ«bu, kurai noteikti bija liela nozÄ«me rezultÄtu sasniegÅ”anai.Ā»
Estere neesot izjutusi stresu, startÄjot kopÄ ar pasaules labÄkajÄm biatlonistÄm. Ā«Pasaules kausÄ debitÄju pirms gada un olimpiskajÄs spÄlÄs jau ir tÄs paÅ”as konkurentes. VienÄ«gÄ atŔķirÄ«ba ir apkÄrtne ar olimpiskajiem riÅÄ·iem fonÄ un lielÄka uzmanÄ«ba no televÄ«zijas. GatavoÅ”anÄs man neatŔķiras, lai kÄdÄ lÄ«menÄ« arÄ« startÄtu. Es cenÅ”os sacensÄ«bas izbaudÄ«t. Å osezon to arÄ« darÄ«ju. IepriekÅ”Äjos gadus bija reizes, kad distancÄ domÄju tikai par to, lai finiÅ”Ätu.Ā» Junioru lÄ«menÄ« no Esteres gaidÄ«ja medaļas, tÄpÄc papildus spiedienu it kÄ vajadzÄja sajust. Ā«JÄ, es apzinÄjos, ka junioru sacensÄ«bÄs ir lielÄka atbildÄ«ba, bet man ir tÄ, ka Å”ÄdÄs reizÄs es kaut kÄ spÄju sevi pareizi noskaÅot. Man Ŕķiet, ka atbildÄ«bas sajÅ«ta man pat palÄ«dzÄja sasniegt labÄkus rezultÄtus.Ā»
PriecÄjoties par Latvijas biatlona jaunÄs paaudzes daudzsoloÅ”ajiem pieteikumiem, jÄatceras, ka Å”ajÄ vecumÄ svarÄ«gi ir nepÄrslogot sportistus ar startÄÅ”anu divu lÄ«meÅu sacensÄ«bÄs. Ā«ÄŖstenÄ«bÄ man bija par desmit startiem mazÄk, nekÄ aizpagÄjuÅ”ajÄ sezonÄ,Ā» Esteres sacÄ«tais nedaudz pÄrsteidza. SacensÄ«bu nozÄ«mÄ«gums savu zÄ«mogu gan esot atsÄjis. Ā«SajÅ«tu ziÅÄ bija lielÄks nogurums, bet tas vairÄk bija uz emocionÄlÄ fona. Es pat nevaru atbildÄt, kÄpÄc tÄ notika, jo parasti ir otrÄdi ā pÄc sliktiem startiem ir psiholoÄ£iski grÅ«ti, bet Å”oreiz emocionÄli vairÄk iztukÅ”ota sajutos olimpiskajÄs spÄlÄs.Ā»
VeselÄ«bas likstu dÄļ Estere atteicÄs no starta Pasaules kausa pÄdÄjÄ posmÄ Oslo pievÄrtÄ HolmenkollenÄ.
Ā«Pasaules junioru ÄempionÄtÄ veselÄ«ba jau bija, tÄ teikt, uz robežas. OtepÄ sapratu, ka uz pÄdÄjo posmu nedoÅ”os.Ā» Par spÄ«ti slimÄ«bas simptomiem, OtepÄ Volfa sasniedza karjeras rekordu Pasaules kausa sacensÄ«bÄs, ieÅemot 9. vietu 7,5 kilometru sprinta distancÄ.
Veikt pÄrmaiÅas labi funkcionÄjoÅ”Ä kolektÄ«vÄ nebÅ«tu prÄtÄ«gi, tÄpÄc pÄc paÅ”reizÄjÄm aprisÄm pÄcolimpiskajai ā 2026./2027. gada ā sezonai trenera IlmÄra BriÄa vadÄ«bÄ turpinÄs gatavoties ierastais sastÄvs ar Baibu Bendiku, Esteri Volfu, Elzu Bleideli un MatÄ«su MeirÄnu. Ā«Mums labi saskan. Man, Elzai un MatÄ«sam iegÅ«tais pasaules junioru Äempionu tituls stafetÄ kalpos kÄ papildus motivÄcija vasaras sagatavoÅ”anÄs posmÄ. ŽÄl, protams, ka Pasaules kausÄ individuÄlajÄs distancÄs bÅ«s tikai trÄ«s starta vietas, bet tas nozÄ«mÄ, ka iekÅ”ÄjÄ konkurence saglabÄsies. Å ajÄ ziÅÄ neko sliktu nesaskatu. SlimÄ«bu vai traumu gadÄ«jumÄ tukÅ”a vieta komandÄ nepaliek, jo ir aizstÄjÄjas, kuras var pieteikt startam Pasaules kausa sacensÄ«bÄs. Ir valstis, kurÄm Å”Ädu iespÄju nav.Ā»
PÄc sezonas beigÄm no biatlona ir iespÄja atvilkt elpu, taÄu nopietnÄk ir jÄparosÄs izglÄ«tÄ«bas lauciÅÄ. Volfa Latvijas UniversitÄtÄ studÄ biznesa vadÄ«bu. Sezonas laikÄ ir iekrÄjuÅ”ies parÄdi, kurus jÄdzÄÅ”, lai sekmÄ«gi beigtu 2. kursu. MaijÄ jau sÄksies gatavoÅ”anÄs nÄkamajai sezonai.
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Medals and History Rewritten
An simply incredible season! Estere Volfa, who has confidently announced herself in the world biathlon elite, admits that such a rapid rise within a single season was a surprise even to her.
āBefore the season, I didnāt expect this kind of outcome. Starting from the European Junior Championships and ending with the World Junior Championships, I managed to achieve everything I had aimed for. The season turned out to be very successful.ā
The competition levels varied greatly ā from the IBU Junior Cup stage in Madona to competing against the worldās elite biathletes on the Olympic track in Antholz, surrounded by thousands of spectators. Because of this, it is difficult to fully evaluate Estereās achievements on a single scale.
At the Olympic Games, finishing 11th in the pursuit, Volfa achieved the second-best result in the history of Latviaās womenās biathlon team, behind Madara LÄ«duma, who placed 10th in the individual race in 2006.
At the junior level, the competition may not have been as strong, but the pressure was higher ā after her strong debut, anything outside the top three would have been seen as a disappointment. Volfa delivered. From the European Junior Championships in Imatra (Finland), she brought home one gold and two bronze medals; from the World Junior Championships in Arber (Germany), two golds and one silver. For the first time in history, Latvia won medals at the World Junior Championships.
The foundation of this success lies in the work done during training.
āI would especially highlight the last three years working with coach IlmÄrs Bricis. The training has been at a very high level. Over the past year, Iāve stepped up another level by training together with Baiba Bendika. These results are not luck ā a lot of hard work has been done. Training no longer feels as difficult; Iāve adapted to this routine ā itās my everyday life.ā
Volfa impressed both with her speed on the track and her shooting accuracy. She refined her shooting technique under Ukrainian specialist Vasyl Mukhshin.
āIām very satisfied that my progress is not only physical but also in shooting. Thanks to my shooting coach, results are already visible in a relatively short time. In a way, I was lucky ā I quickly understood the coachās requirements and gained confidence, which played a big role in achieving results.ā
Estere did not feel stress competing among the worldās best.
āI made my World Cup debut a year ago, and at the Olympics itās the same competitors. The only difference is the atmosphere ā Olympic rings and more media attention. My preparation doesnāt change regardless of the level. I try to enjoy the races, and this season I really did. In previous years, sometimes I was just thinking about finishing.ā
At the junior level, expectations for medals added pressure.
āYes, I understood the responsibility was higher, but in those moments I manage to focus correctly. I think that sense of responsibility actually helped me achieve better results.ā
While celebrating the promising new generation of Latvian biathlon, itās important not to overload athletes with competitions at multiple levels.
āIn fact, I had ten fewer starts than the previous season,ā Volfa noted. However, the importance of competitions took its toll.
āI felt more fatigue, but it was more emotional. Usually itās the opposite ā poor results are mentally harder, but this time I felt more emotionally drained after the Olympic Games.ā
Due to health issues, Estere skipped the final World Cup stage in Oslo, Holmenkollen.
āAt the World Junior Championships, my health was already on the edge. In OtepƤƤ I realized I wouldnāt go to the final stage.ā
Despite illness, she achieved a career-best World Cup result in OtepƤƤ, finishing 9th in the 7.5 km sprint.
It is unlikely that major changes will be made to a well-functioning team. For the post-Olympic 2026/2027 season, the current lineup ā Baiba Bendika, Estere Volfa, Elza Bleidele, and MatÄ«ss MeirÄns ā will continue training under coach IlmÄrs Bricis.
āWe work well together. Winning the World Junior Championship relay title with Elza and MatÄ«ss will be extra motivation for summer training. Itās unfortunate that there will only be three ŃŃŠ°ŃŃ spots in individual World Cup races, but that means internal competition will remain strong. I see that as a positive. In case of illness or injury, we have substitutes ā not all countries have that advantage.ā
After the season, there is a chance to rest from biathlon, but more focus is needed on education. Volfa studies Business Management at the University of Latvia. During the season, she has accumulated coursework that needs to be completed to successfully finish her second year.
Preparation for the next season will begin in May.
Autors/Author.
Biathlon Team Latvia
