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About the German Team

Andrej20M: Andrea….who are you best friends in the German team?
A_Henkel: My best friend in the German team is Martina Glagow, who isn't here. But I get along with everybody. Martina called me right after the race and congratulated me. She even called my sister when I was still on my final lap.

Tom_Klein: Does the German team train individually or all together?
A_Henkel: We meet several time each year in training camps, but apart from that, we train alone or in small groups at our training centers. Here in Hochfilzen, all the girls have their own plans, because everybody knows best what is best for her. But we do have common practice times.
A_Henkel: It's a mix of training together and training individually.

NatalieD: How is the atmosphere in the German team right now?
A_Henkel: The mood in the German team is great right now, really relaxed. Especially the coaches and trainers … (laughing). When a team is this successful, the atmosphere is always great.

Tom_Klein: how do the team members get on with each other?
A_Henkel: We get along really well. We're all old enough so that everybody also does his own thing. We train together, and we have a glass of wine together sometimes in the evening, when we have the chance, depending on our schedule for the following day. Sometimes we watch a DVD, too.

Gredlerlu: Is there a rivalry?
A_Henkel: There is rivalry, but a healthy one

About the Individual Race

ChElsner: Hello Andrea, which victory was more valuable for you? The individual in Salt Lake or the victory yesterday?
A_Henkel: I wouldn't want to compare or rate those wins. Salt Lake City was important, because without it, I would have had an even harder time in the past 2 years.

carax: Was running in the second group a disadvantage?
A_Henkel: The second group was not a disadvantage. It was just a little crowded. It was snowing all the time, so it didn't make much of a difference. There still was a lot of snow on the track when I ran it.

PblCb: Andrea, please describe your first reaction after the race yesterday!
A_Henkel: Nobody expected that win; I was just happy about the way it went and that I was able to make the best of the chance I had. I wasn't going to start at all at first and then I did so well. I can't really describe how I felt. The last two years went through my mind with all the problems I had. And now, all of a sudden, everything is supposed to just wonderful again. I know that I still have to work on a lot of things.
A_Henkel: I know that I'm still not one of the best in the World. I was, for this one day, but I still have to work hard to stay there.

SteffiS: Andrea, did you think you had a chance to win during the race?
A_Henkel: During the race, I didn't think that I would be able to win. I was always in positions four to six in the split times. I really only started to think that I could win on the final lap.

carax: What do you think about during the races?
A_Henkel: Thoughts during the race depend on the way the race moves along, how you get into the race, what happens at the shooting range. You do have a lot of time to think, running along on these tracks.

PblCb: Andrea do you feel the support of the fans?
A_Henkel: The fans are so loud - I couldn't ignore them even if I wanted to. They really go along with the rhythm at the shooting range.
A_Henkel: I really have to focus on the coaches, too. Otherwise I might not understand what they are telling me.

World Championships

WeNo: What about the women's relay on Friday. Are you in the team?
A_Henkel: We have a team meeting at 9:00 tomorrow (Thursday). The coaches will decide then.

NatalieD: What do you expect of Hochfilzen now?
A_Henkel: It really can't get any better. I don't have any further expectations, except that I want to shoot well in the Mass Start.

Mario21: Andrea, you can have a party with Dostal after the WCH?
Gredlerlu: How do you rate the win of Roman Dostal?
A_Henkel: The win for Dostal was great. He shot well, and only had that one error in the last session. And he skied well, too. Congratulations!

Private Matters and plans for the future
Nazy: Andrea, did you have any moments in your life when you wanted to leave biathlon?
A_Henkel: I never considered quitting. I always planned to continue until 2006.

Gredlerlu: What are your plans for the future, concerning you career in sports?
A_Henkel: I plan about one year ahead, and then I'll see what happens. Right now I feel that I'd like to just continue somewhat longer, but I'll have to see how it goes – and how hard it is to get into the team.

Gredlerlu: And privately?
A_Henkel: I do want to have kids at some point, but not yet.

Mario21: Do you do other sports apart from biathlon?
A_Henkel: We do all kinds of other sports during practice: cycling, weights, jogging. I really like jogging – it has almost become a hobby. I play golf some times, when I have the time.

PblCb: Andrea, Do you like to read books?? What is your favorite author? Maybe Pushkin, Tolstoj, Dostojevskij....
A_Henkel: I don't read very much, but when I do read, then I

 want to learn something from what I'm reading. Right now I am reading "A little history about nearly everything" by Bill Bryson, a real bestseller in Great Britain right now.

PblCb: Andrea, what music do you listen to? Do you like Rammstein?
NatalieD: Andrea do you like "Wir sind Helden"?
A_Henkel: My music tastes vary, it depends on the mood I'm in. There is some pretty good German music in the charts now, like "Wir sind Helden"!
NatalieD: I love "Wir sind Helden" They're great!

Gredlerlu: Do you like to travel?
A_Henkel: I do like to travel, but I don't have a favorite spot. I was on Hawaii last year, which was really beautiful.

Gredlerlu: Did you surf there?
A_Henkel: I tried body boarding, but the board hit me on the nose, which wasn't so funny.

Andrej20M: Andrea, do you like cinema? What is your favorite film??
A_Henkel: I go to the movies when there is something interesting to see. The last film I saw was "Head-On", I think, but that was a while ago.

girlofina: Andrea, do you have a boyfriend?
PblCb: Andrea, do you have a boyfriend? Is he a sportsman, too?
A_Henkel: Yes, I have a boyfriend. He doesn't do sports professionally, just as a hobby.

Gredlerlu: Do you have an Idol?
A_Henkel: I really don't have an Idol, I do my thing.

NatalieD: Who supported you the most during the last season, your family?
A_Henkel: Yes, of course. My parents can't be there all the time, because they are both working. They usually come to the races in Ruhpolding and Oberhof, but this year, they went to Oberstdorf to see my sister run in the Nordic Ski World Championships.

Andrej20M: Andrea....what education you have??
Gredlerlu: What job do you have, apart from biathlon?
A_Henkel: I am a Soldier.

Biathlon in General

Hanna: Which kind of race do you like best (sprint, pursuit...)?
A_Henkel: My favorite is the pursuit, the problem is, that you need a good sprint result (laughing). The Pursuit is my favorite, because of the proportion of shooting and running.
A_Henkel: I prefer the disciplines that involve more shooting.


carax: Why do you decide to do biathlon?
A_Henkel: My sister did cross country and I came along. In 1988, women biathlon became an Olympic sport and in the GDR, the girls were just moved into the biathlon center with the boys. I was one of them. I didn't really decide by myself. In 1991, I went to the Sports School in Oberhof.

PblCb: Andrea, do you like to watch biathlon on TV?
Gredlerlu: What do you do when the men are running? Do you go to the track or do you watch the races on TV?
A_Henkel: We didn't go the track today, because the weather was really bad. It only would have made us ill. When there are two races and we're at dinner, for example, we usually try to find a TV and watch the race together.
A_Henkel: I do watch the men's races on TV most of the time.

Andrej20M: Andrea...what do you think about China? Will they be a great power in the future?
A_Henkel: Yes, I think so. They train a lot and very hard and if they start practicing the downhill … (laughing). China is almost one of the leading biathlon nations already.

lizavinto: Andrea, do you know any Russian biathletes?
A_Henkel: I talk to Albina Akhatova sometimes, and also with Nikolay Kruglov, they speak English quite well, and Rostovtzev, who speaks German.

carax: Do you like Sibiria and Khanty-Mansiyk?
A_Henkel: The buzz in Khanty-Mansiyk is so big that we don't get see much about the country, really, which is a pity.

Carax: Who do you think is the best biathlete right now?
A_Henkel: I think that it's always the one in the yellow jersey. Well, Bjoerndalen isn't wearing the yellow bib right now, but he just won two titles last weekend.

SMILY: Have you ever been to Moscow?
A_Henkel: No, I haven't been to Moscow.

SteffiS: What's your favorite city for biathlon?
A_Henkel: Competing in Oberhof is nice because the stadium is always full. It's the same in Ruhpolding and at the Holmenkollen. I like to run in places where there are a lot of fans.

About the remaining season

NatalieD: will you join the mixed relay in Khanty?
Gredlerlu: Who would you like to team up with?
A_Henkel: The mixed relay team hasn't been decided on, yet. I am going to Khanty, though. I would really like to run, because this will be the first mixed relay ever. I don't know who I'd like to run with.