Ask the Paralympic pioneers: Andrea Eskau on Para biathlon

Get ready for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. The Paralympic Winter Games return to Italy for the first time since 2006, gathering up to 665 athletes across six sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

This week, hear directly from legendary Paralympians as they answer your top questions about their sports. 

We spoke with Germany’s Andrea Eskau, a dual summer and winter athlete, who has competed at an extraordinary eight Paralympic Games in Para cycling, Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon.

She has won eight gold, five silver and two bronze medals. Her medal haul includes three gold medals and a bronze medal in Para biathlon.

 

 

Para biathlon 101: Get to know the sport 

1. What is Para biathlon? 

It’s a sport that involves cross-country skiing and shooting. There’s a slight difference between how the sit skiers, skiers with vision impairment and skiers with impairments in their limb shoot. I’m a sit skier and the sit skiers are shooting (usually side on) from the sit ski. You have to aim at the target and to be very calm. 

Athletes with vision impairment have an acoustic signal that helps them to shoot. They aim by hearing tones. I tried it myself and I'm not good at it.  

There are different distances for the skiing. You have a very short sprint, and this is very dependent on your shooting.  

And then we have the 7.5km. This includes shooting twice and skiing three laps. 

We also have a long-distance race. That means five laps and four times shooting, but for every missed shot you get a one-minute penalty and so that hurts very much. 

 

2. How did you take up the sport?

I started with a hand bike after my accident. I’m a summer sports athlete too. I met some athletes who participate in winter sports, so I thought, "May I come try this too?"

At first, I thought I was a really bad shooter. But then, I got really good at shooting. So I have done both Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon.

 

3. What do you find most enjoyable about competing in Para biathlon? 

Para biathlon is more difficult than Para cross-country skiing because going fast is just going fast.

In Para biathlon the fastest will not necessarily win a competition. When you're going to the shooting range, you have to go down with your heart rate to get really settled and really focused on the target.

It’s much more challenging than Para cross-country skiing. And that's what I like about Para biathlon. You have often different winners because sometimes you have luck and sometimes you have bad luck. Some days you are better or some days your competitors are better.

 

4. What were some of the challenges or difficulties you faced in the sport?

I have a lot of difficulties. I have been on the top and the bottom. I have had a very long career and so I have seen all phases of sports – winning really important races and even losing them. 

 

 

Inside the Para biathlon playbook

1. Can you tell us about the equipment used in the sport?

There is an air pressure rifle, and maybe you have some adjustments. I have a sit ski made especially for me, so I can move around much better than a normal sit ski. 

Skiers with upper limb disabilities can ski without poles or with one pole. Skiers with vision impairment ski with a guide. 

 

2. How do athletes train for Para biathlon? 

You have to train the shooting very, very often. I have a gym in my house and I do some weight training. I live in an area where we don't have snow at all. It's close to Cologne, Germany. And so, I have to train very often on roller skis. We also go on training camps to train on snow. I also go out on the hand bike in the summer.

 

 

3. What is it like to go from skiing to shooting in Para biathlon? How do you calm your heart rate?

About 50 metres from the shooting range, I start to slow down a little. When I lie down, I start my deep breathing and then I get my system really comfortable.

I take one deep breath and exhale not all the way out and then I shoot.  And then the next shot. 

Some people breathe twice between the shots, but I breathe once.

 

4. What does it take to become a Paralympic champion in your sport?

What does it take to become a Paralympic champion in the biathlon? To be lucky. You have to be very confident. You have to be very calm and very focused.

I believe in God and I believe sometimes lovely God gives you a little push, an extra push, and then everything works out. And sometimes it’s not that way. 

 

Paralympic Winter Games at the centre

1. What do you remember most about your first Paralympics?

My first was the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. It was very emotional for me because I was really on top of my game.  I was really reaching for at least a medal.

Then, I had an allergic reaction, a medical episode. Everything in my body swelled. It was anaphylactic shock. But days later I still got a gold medal in the cycling road race by doing a 50 metre sprint. It was like a roller coaster.

My first Winter Paralympics was Vancouver 2010. I was not that prepared because I started the sport less than a half year earlier. I got two medals. It was bronze in Para biathlon and silver in Para cross-country skiing. I was really happy about it.

 

2. What is your favourite memory in Para sport?

I like the preparation, the training, to be better, to find new things to improve from your equipment, your body, all of it, your mind - you can improve everything.

I was born in an area in Germany where we have a lot of snow. I do not live there anymore. When I was in a wheelchair, I used to hate the snow because I wasn’t able to go around. My hands were cold. Then I started winter sport and going around in the sit ski. I was able to go through the snow, through the forest again, to see all the nice spots.

 

Counting down to Milano Cortina 2026

1. What excites you most about the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games?

It's in Italy. I like the Italian spirit. I like the Italian people. I imagine really good tracks and a really good games. It will be perfect.

 

2. What can fans look out for when watching Para biathlon?

Focus on the shooting. The shooting is so important and it's thrilling. If two competitors or more come to the shooting range at the same time, then it's a lot of stress on every athlete because your opponent is lying beside you. In every race, somebody is losing their nerves.

 

3. Can you share a message for athletes who will compete at Milano Cortina 2026?

Never have a heavy heart after a lost competition. That's not so important for your life. It should be fun. But if there is no success, it doesn't matter. 

If you have done your race like you imagined your race, then everything is fine.

Have a good time, have fun with your opponents. Grow some friendships. Take in the atmosphere, breathe it deep into yourself and take it back to your home country.

 

Read more about the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games

 

Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games  

Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less.

For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org