The starting field reads wonderfully wintry: Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi, Denise Herrmann-Wick, Hanna Öberg, Sturla Holm Laegreid, Benedikt Doll, Martin Ponsiluoma, Tarjei Bö. Four of the seven world’s best female biathletes and four of the seven world’s best biathletes compete against each other. This is worth noting because the competitions are held in the middle of August – a month that is not part of the traditional biathlon high season, at least in Central Europe. But in a town in Hesse, they haven’t taken tradition that seriously for a number of years.
The “City Biathlon” will be held for the fifth time in Wiesbaden on Sunday. All of this is planned without the help of artificial snow, rather it is artificial skis that athletes strap under their shoes in competitions like this, which according to all traditions is more environmentally friendly. Experts talk about roller skis, they are an elongated variant of inline skates.
Whatever you call them, they are becoming more and more interesting: because winter is increasingly trying to be counted among the seasons with little snow. Biathlon fans have long been familiar with the shift to a season with little snow. The essence of biathlon remains in summer: the combination of fitness and precision. The shots are fired with those small caliber rifles that are also used in winter.
Even without snow, spectators come – the grandstand tickets in Wiesbaden are sold out
At least the lack of snow doesn’t seem to completely spoil the fun of watching for the spectators. In Wiesbaden – after the failure in 2022 and the restrictions in 2021 due to Corona – the grandstand tickets are sold out for Sunday. However, watching from the edge of the track is still possible and cheaper because it’s free. Less cheap, but still available, are VIP tickets for 250 euros plus advance booking fees – and in a similar price range to VIP tickets for the Winter World Cup in Ruhpolding, where temperatures in January were almost the same as they are now.
Well, the Ruhpolding comparison admittedly lags in several ways. Also because no World Cup points are awarded in Wiesbaden. It is more or less a show event with selected athletes or those who accepted the invitation. The two best in their industry are missing: The French overall World Cup winner and world champion Julia Simon is struggling with allegations of fraud, the Norwegian exceptional talent Johannes Thinges Bö is resting on his victory at the last Wiesbaden City Biathlon 2021 (and possibly various gold medals from the Oberhof World Championships) . For this, two athletes, who actually already belong to the former, give themselves the honor again.
Germany’s best biathlete to date, Denise Herrmann-Wick, announced the end of her career after the last winter season, including the world championship title in the sprint. Shortly before the World Cup, she described roller skis as “black painting” in winter. Until then “a lot has to happen”. For the farewell race, she climbs back onto artificial skis – in the summer, you should notice – and puts her gun on her shoulders. The former athletes Marte Olsbu Röiseland, Vanessa Hinz and Maren Hammerschmidt do the same. If you want to see the four, you should be at the edge of the track (or with a ticket in the grandstands) at 1 p.m. The final of the biathletes (2.30 p.m.) who will still be active in the future (3.30 p.m.) will be broadcast live on ZDF. Benedikt Doll, fourth overall in the World Cup last year, explained in advance: “I want to be on the podium.”
