Top Czech biathlete Tereza Vinklárková speaks candidly about her training, health challenges, and valuable lessons in securing sponsorships. How does she view her chances of competing in the World Cup?

Czech biathlete Tereza Vinklárková is in full swing, preparing for the upcoming winter season. Earlier this spring, she considered switching to long-distance skiing, but ultimately decided to continue with biathlon.

During the summer training period, she combines intense workouts with competitions. Last weekend, she competed in the Czech Republic Biathlon Championships on roller skis in Letohrad, where she secured a bronze medal in the Sunday pursuit race. Recently, she also took part in her first “laufařský” race of the year as part of the Czech roller ski series eD Skiroll Classics (specifically the Hamrskiroll in the OPEN category over 24km).

This weekend, the twenty-seven-year-old biathlete will compete in a final weekend double event on roller skis – a 1 km sprint in Frymburk on Friday and a 22 km race Lipnolopet on Saturday.

“Except for a significant health setback in July, the preparation is going according to plan, and in October, we will transition into the autumn training phase,” she describes her training progress so far.

Great team and new motivation

This is Tereza Vinklárková’s second season with the university team under coach Zdeněk Vítek. Although this training group is more modest in terms of financial resources, the biathlete cannot praise its atmosphere enough:

“I wouldn’t call the university team a worse training environment because everyone has different preferences. Of course, from a cost perspective, the university team might be the least advantageous for a biathlete compared to all Czech national teams, but I really enjoy this group of people!”

She has recently welcomed Kristýna Otcovská to the team, who is returning after health issues related to her immune system:

“Týnka, our future doctor, is diligently working her way back up in training, and I’m happy about that. She is definitely a candidate for the World Cup 2026/2027, thus providing me with substantial team motivation.”

She also stays in close contact with her colleagues from the main A team – in August, she completed a joint training block with them in Nové Město na Moravě.

Clearing her mind with other sports

When she is not training with the group during the training camps, she uses her free weeks to spend time in her hometown of Brno with her boyfriend. However, she doesn’t completely abandon sports during these days:

“During these weeks, our training is defined only by a minimal volume that we should adhere to. Which methods we choose is up to us. I try to engage in different sports than I’m used to for the entire month to give my mind a preventive break from the intense training regimen,” she says to Bezky.net.

End of preparation and World Cup prospects

Tereza will complete the autumn phase separately from the A team to avoid disrupting the training concept of the university squad. She will only join the national A team during the first snow training sessions. October is her favorite time of year:

“October is my favorite month for dry training. Paradoxically, due to the weather, it isn’t very dry anymore, but in recent years, I’ve noticed the most significant performance growth and strength to train at maximum during this time.”

Regarding her participation in the first races of the winter World Cup, she remains grounded, even though the usual nomination rules should give her good prospects. In November, she aims to showcase her maximum performance:

“In the nomination races in November, I want to demonstrate performance that corresponds to a representative of the Czech Republic in the World Cup in biathlon. With the increasing amount of consistent training, I am more and more convinced that my only obstacle to significant results has been, is, and I hope will no longer be, illnesses.”

Lessons from the world of sponsorship

Before diving into full preparation, she dedicated her spring break to her home club Střelka Brno, where she first tried her hand at being a manager and negotiating with private sponsors. This experience provided her with valuable insights:

“My first experiences in negotiating partnerships with private financial sources showed me that I need to be much more persistent, and spoken words never mean as much as what is on paper. Honestly, I didn’t have time for any personal downtime. However, the club was well-prepared for the upcoming training season, and I was ready for mine without further limitations.”

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