The German biathletes quickly fell behind in the relay. But then Hettich-Walz initiates the chase at the World Cup in Oberhof. It’s not enough to achieve more than a good third place – also because of the external conditions.
The German biathletes secured the second relay podium place of the Olympic winter at the World Cup in Oberhof. Selina Grotian, Julia Tannheimer, Janina Hettich-Walz and Franziska Preuß came third in World Champion France’s victory. In the decisive final shooting, Preuß lost out in a direct duel with three spare rounds against the flawless Norwegian Maren Kirkeeide. The Scandinavians took second place.
After one penalty from Grotian and a total of 13 spare rounds, national coach Kristian Mehringer’s protégés ended up 1:28.4 minutes behind the Olympic favorites from France. Norway was 53.7 seconds behind. For the German women, it was the second podium of the season after third place in Hochfilzen.
Four weeks before the start of the Winter Games in Italy, Grotian put her team behind with a penalty in the standing stage. “As soon as I started, I thought to myself, oh, this could be difficult, unfortunately my hands were two blocks of ice,” said Grotian on ARD. She had no real feeling in her hands. “I felt like I hit them all, but unfortunately none of them fell over.”
Grotian had already scored two penalties in eleventh place at the season opener in Östersund at the end of November. It’s been a difficult season for the 21-year-old so far. Because of a corona infection, she missed the two World Cups in Hochfilzen and Le Grand-Bornand. So far she has only completed four races and has to worry about qualifying for the Olympics.
Hettich-Walz is catching up
Grotian handed over to Tannheimer in tenth place (+ 37.5 seconds). The 20-year-old barely avoided the next penalty lap while lying down. She needed two spares while standing. Hettich-Walz started the race in fifth place, 1:16.5 minutes behind the leader. And the 29-year-old delivered, bringing her team up to second place.
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Overall World Cup winner Preuß started the final section almost at the same time as Kirkeeide. And Germany’s athlete of the year initially impressed with a very fast prone shooting. Kirkeide made up the gap of seven seconds until the final shooting and took Preuss away at the shooting range: While the Norwegian only needed 20.6 seconds, Preuß took 50.3 seconds. Nevertheless, she cheered with her teammates at the finish.
“Second place was possible, that’s why the last shooting annoys me a bit. Third place is still good in the end,” said Preuß.
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