Regina Ermits from Estonia is currently experiencing the best season of her biathlon career. In an exclusive SPORT1 interview, she talks about why things are going so well, what fascinates her so much about her idol Magdalena Neuner, and why a place in Germany feels like a second home to her.
“The most important reason was that I knew that wasn’t me.” That’s what Regina Ermits replies in an exclusive interview with SPORT1 in Ruhpolding when asked what motivated her never to give up, even though for so many years she was far from achieving top results in world-class biathlon.
The Estonian, who had never made it past 47th place in the overall World Cup, is currently having the best season of her career, regularly mixing with the stars of the dominant biathlon nations Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, and Germany on the results board.
Regina Ermits is currently having the best biathlon season of her career
Biathlon: Estonian shines with best season of her career
In the pursuit races in Hochfilzen and Oberhof, Ermits even made it into the top ten twice with eighth and ninth places, thanks to flawless shooting sessions. The 29-year-old had only achieved a top-10 finish outside of a relay once before in her career.
Unlike her eighth place last year in the individual race in Kontiolahti, these top-10 results are no longer unusual outliers. Her season start was moderate, but since then, Ermits has impressed with consistent top-20 results, currently placing her 19th in the overall World Cup.
Even during the recent World Cup week in Ruhpolding, Ermits showed her class: In the sprint, despite health issues, she achieved 15th place after a faultless performance at the shooting range; she could not compete in the pursuit due to a virus.
Ermits sees Germany as her “second home”
It was a decision that cost some tears, which may also be because the World Cup in Upper Bavaria is very special for Ermits – as she reveals to SPORT1 , she considers Ruhpolding “my second home”.
This is not only because she married her husband, former Estonian biathlete Kalev Ermits, there in 2022, but also due to the fact that her parents live in Ruhpolding.
“My father works for the International Biathlon Union. He is the sports director for the IBU Cup ( the second tier in biathlon, editor’s note ). His office is in Salzburg, so it made sense for them to live closer to his office,” explains Ermits, who also understands German but “can’t really speak it.”
Ermits’ love for biathlon is therefore no coincidence. Her father, Kristjan Oja, was active as a biathlete himself before his job with the federation and even made it to the Olympic Games in Albertville in 1992. Ermits’ mother was also active as a biathlete in her youth.
Learning from Preuss and Co.: “It’s a privilege”
The talent was thus passed down to the woman from Tallinn. But not only her parents are a great inspiration for Ermits – she also learns a lot from top biathlon stars like Franziska Preuss.
“It’s a privilege to be so close to these top athletes all these years, to see what they do, to compete with them, and to observe how they behave,” Ermits raves: “Thanks to them, I have grown as an athlete.”
That seems to be paying off now, looking at the current season – even if she herself finds it difficult to put into words the reasons for her athletic rise.
“I’ve done the same thing as always, but suddenly everything is working,” says Ermits, who made her World Cup debut back in 2016 (then under the name Oja): “It’s as if all the years of hard work and all the knowledge I’ve acquired, also letting go of things I can’t control, have contributed to it.”
Hermits battle through weaker phases
This attitude also helped her cope with the weaker results of previous years, as in the past, results outside the top 30 in individual races were rather rare.
Nevertheless, Ermits always felt “that I hadn’t reached my level yet.”
At least in the relays, she has been showing her potential for some time. The highlight was second place in the Single Mixed Relay in Pokljuka alongside Rene Zahkna in 2020 – the greatest success in the history of Estonian biathlon.
Regina Ermits is having a strong biathlon season so far
Concentration in shooting? “That was a problem”
A strong performance at the shooting range was the basis then – something that for many years was anything but a given for her – especially in prone shooting. Ermits often found it difficult to fight for every hit.
“That was a small problem,” admits the 29-year-old: “Sometimes I just couldn’t concentrate.” Now she knows that on a bad day on the track, she doesn’t have to exhaust herself completely, but as for concentration, she says: “For those five shots or 30 seconds, I can do it.”
And it’s working excellently this season. In individual races, she currently has an incredible streak of 55 consecutive hits – and while Ermits cleared only 69 percent of the targets in prone shooting in the 2022/23 season, it’s a strong 88 percent in the current season.
Inspired by Germany’s biathlon legend Neuner
Only on the cross-country track does the Estonian still lag further behind the top athletes. This currently not only prevents podium finishes but also distinguishes her from her great idol Magdalena Neuner.
Nevertheless, it is less Neuner’s running strength or great successes that fascinate Ermits about the German Olympic champion and world champion: “It was more the energy I got from her, not so much as an athlete, but rather as a person.”
Above all, one statement by Neuner remained representative in her memory: “I remember her being asked in an interview: ‘Summer or winter?’, and she answered ‘Summer’. And I thought: ‘What? But you’re a winter athlete. How can you choose that?’ But now I understand it.”
For Ermits, Neuner always seemed “so authentic,” which was only underlined by the surprisingly early retirement of the exemplary German athlete at the time: “When she ended her career, most people’s reaction was: ‘Oh, you’re still so young,’ but for me it was: ‘Oh my God. That’s so strong.'”
Neuner’s decision “very much inspired” Ermits “that it’s all about you and what you want to do.”
Years of perseverance are rewarded
However, she herself did not take the early career end of the three-time overall World Cup winner as an example – fortunately, because otherwise, Ermits would never have experienced her current successes.
At almost 30 years old, she currently “definitely” enjoys her job more than ever before.
And who knows, with her new confidence at the shooting range, her current successes might just be the beginning.