An the second World Cup weekend of this winter, Denise Herrmann-Wick gave the German biathletes their first win of the season. In Hochfilzen, the individual Olympic champion from Beijing won the sprint race over 7.5 kilometers on Thursday with flawless shooting and a strong ski performance. Marketa Davidova from the Czech Republic finished second, just under 18 seconds behind Julia Simon from France. Both made one shooting error each.
Herrmann-Wick, who had previously struggled with the shooting range in Hochfilzen, was particularly pleased with her perfect hit rate: “I was able to shoot a good rhythm. To finish first here is unbelievable. Hochfilzen slides way up on my favorite list.” Mark Kirchner described the performance of the 33-year-old as “extraordinarily good”. But the national coach also recognized “one or the other little mistake too many” in the five other German athletes, none of whom could place in the top 20. Nevertheless, the victory will “continue to give the team good momentum”.
Anna Weidel (22nd), Sophia Schneider (23rd), Franziska Preuss (25th) and Vanessa Voigt (30th) each made two shooting errors. Although Juliane Frühwirt shot clean, she was 1:39 minutes behind in 40th place. For Franziska Preuss in particular, the first thing to do in Hochfilzen was to gain competition practice. The 28-year-old was unable to start at the World Cup opener in Kontiolathi, Finland last week due to an irritated respiratory tract and a cough. She therefore only entered the World Cup season in Austria. “First of all, I’m glad I was able to start at all,” said the Bavarian afterwards. “But I’ve already noticed that last week I almost only lay in bed. It was tough on the track.” She now wants to gain confidence and competitive toughness from race to race.
Although she was annoyed by her two shooting errors, she was optimistic about the pursuit race this Saturday (11.30 a.m. / ZDF and Eurosport): “I’ll see that I can do better. I want to come through clean on the shooting range.” Denise Herrmann-Wick now has the best starting position for the second race, who has resolved to complete all four shooting bouts without making any mistakes this time. In view of the World Championships in February next year (February 6th to 19th) in Oberhof in Thuringia, however, things have to “go a little faster on the track”.
“My best week ever”
The German biathletes had a successful start to the World Cup season last week in Kontiolathi, Finland, with four podium finishes in eight races. The two seasons each took second place. “Kontiolahti was a very positive World Cup for us,” said sports director Felix Biathlon, who particularly emphasized the successes of the younger athletes. “We are really pleased with how broadly our team was represented in the various competitions in the top places.”
In Kontiolathi, Roman Rees was the best German in third place in the sprint, fourth in the individual, fifth in the pursuit and second in the relay. “That was my best week ever,” said the 29-year-old from the Black Forest before leaving Finland. Whether he can still trump this performance will be seen from this Friday. Then the men will start their second World Cup weekend with the sprint over ten kilometers (1.45 p.m. / ZDF and Eurosport).
