Biathlon World Cup
Even without Preuß: DSV quartet surprises with a podium finish
Despite the absence of a duo who was missing due to illness, the German biathlon relay team improved enormously compared to the start in Östersund. The reward: third place behind Sweden and Norway.
The German biathletes surprised positively in the relay race in Hochfilzen without the overall World Cup winner Franziska Preuß, who was ill. Anna Weidel, Julia Tannheimer, Janina Hettich-Walz and Vanessa Voigt took third place after 4×6 kilometers. In the first race of the Olympic winter, the quartet with Preuß and Selina Grotian, who was also missing in Austria, only finished eleventh.
“The two failures obviously hurt us – especially at this high level,” said sports director Felix Bitterling from the German Ski Association (DSV) before the start. His departure after this season was announced that morning. However, it is important to achieve the best performance at the annual peak in Antholz, Italy in February, he said.
The Swedes secured an unchallenged start-and-finish victory in front of 10,100 spectators. Ella Halvarsson, Anna Magnusson as well as Elvira and Hanna Öberg had seven spares, 40.3 seconds ahead of Norway (9 spares). The DSV team (8) was 51.3 seconds behind the winners.
Julia Tannheimer in particular showed a reaction to her liking after four penalty laps in the sprint. “After my race yesterday, I’m satisfied today. I’m glad I got through the shooting,” said the 20-year-old, who had one penalty lap in the relay race in Östersund.
The French were unable to live up to their role as favorites. They fell behind early on and ended up in sixth place with one penalty and ten spares.
dpa
