Bendika gave birth to a son last fall, and just two months later she returned to the competition circuit. In addition, at the end of the season, the athlete won the fifth place in the sprint distance of the world championship, achieving the greatest success of her career so far. This allowed her to become a contender for the title of the best sportswoman of Latvia in 2024.
Before that, in March 2023, Bendika in a duet with Andrej Rastorgujev won the third place in the mixed pairs relay competition at the World Cup stage in Nove Mesto. This became the first time in history that Latvian biathletes reached the podium of the highest level competition in the relay competition, as it did not succeed even once during the so-called great four. As Bendika reveals in the interview, she already knew about the upcoming family growth at that time, but her teammates had not yet been informed. “I myself had a cool feeling inside about the little secret that in fact we have won this medal as a trio.”
Remembering her soon return to competition after giving birth, Bendika says that everything went according to plan. “Theoretically, we had a plan, if everything goes relatively well, after 40 days, try to start training in a semi-normal mode and then, based on feelings and the situation, see at what point we could start. That’s how everything turned out in principle, because the main return was planned after the New Year, but until then we competed, looking at the situation, in such a conditional test mode,” says the athlete. Unfortunately, around the New Year, the son suffered health problems, which also prevented his mother from competing successfully, however, right before the world championship, the conditions improved.
“To be honest, the feelings before the World Championship were really good, I would like to say that I don’t know if I had ever felt so good physically. Of course, it was difficult to assess the real situation at which level I am completely objectively, because I had not played many competitions. However, on a sensory level, I felt really good and it seemed that there was really nothing left to do. That’s why there was an internal hope that a good result should be achieved,” Bendika says that the fifth place in the world championship was not a surprise to her. “Starting at such a high level, it is impossible to achieve such results unexpectedly. To do that, you have to be functionally strong enough and I felt that it was really good. Of course, you never know how strong the competitors will be. It is a great pleasure that it was possible to win fifth place with one penalty.”
Last season, Bendika closed only 71% of the targets and was at the bottom of the statistics. The season before that was 73%, then 75%. At one time, she also shot with 85% accuracy, but since 2016/2017. the annual statistics are only getting worse.
“Since then, the speed has increased significantly, and thus the mental burden and responsibility for each shot has increased. This greatly affects accuracy. However, 85% confirm that I have the skills and talents, it remains only to put all the little ticks in the right order, which is not so easy. We are working to make the accuracy much higher in the long term,” Bendika said about shooting even before the start of the season. Unfortunately, even in the first three stages of the World Cup this season, she did not manage to get out of the downward curve, closing only 68% of the targets.
Along with Bendika, Elīna Ieva Bota (sledge sports), Patrīcija Eidukas (cross-country skiing), Kitija Laksa (basketball) and Aļona Ostapenko (tennis) are also competing for this year’s Latvian best sportswoman award. The winner of the title will be named at the celebratory Three Star Award ceremony, which will take place on January 15, 2025. “I definitely believe that such awards are necessary, they highlight the achievements of athletes, it’s always nice when you are appreciated again,” the biathlete is happy about such ceremonies.
Baiba Bendika believes that road cyclist Tomas Skujiņas should be recognized as the best Latvian athlete of the year in the men’s competition. “The competition in biathlon is huge, but in cycling it is even bigger. It is much more challenging to achieve good results there and he has shown his ability in all the main starts this season. It’s not that easy to do. I have tremendous respect for what Tom has accomplished! Knowing how much he’s put in, what he’s like as a person, what his work ethic is, he’s close to the perfect athlete profile.”
Meanwhile, the biathlete herself is currently planning to participate in the Winter Olympic Games in 2026, which will be held at one of her favorite tracks in Antholz, where there is always a great atmosphere, and in the upcoming World Championship in 2027 in Otepe. “You never know anything in life, but for now I don’t plan much further than Otepi. It is planned to catch it in the bonus after the Olympic Games, but everything that will come next is already highly doubtful,” in conversation with Sports newspaper says Baiba Bendika.
Look for the full interview with Baiba Bendika in December In Sports Newspaperwhich can be found in the best press outlets.