Biathlon start in Kontiolahti. Franziska Preuß and four young talents

The German biathlon landscape can perhaps be discussed in this picture: It shows two women in competition gear – and if you want, you can read the anticipation. The social media photo shows the biathlete Franziska Preuß, who has been established in the scene for many years and is sometimes very successful. And a new teammate who is better known to insiders and Instagrammers: 20-year-old Julia Kink from Rosenheim. “There are a few years in between here,” can be read under Preuß’s posting on Instagram. Ten, to be exact. They stand there arm in arm. As if they wanted to tell the viewer: old and young shoulder this together.

It could be a complicated season for the biathlon team of the German Ski Association (DSV), which is often the case in sport when so-called figureheads retire. Benedikt Doll belonged to this category, and after Denise Herrmann-Wick’s departure the year before, one can speak of a sporting turning point from a German perspective. So it’s not least about the exciting question of whether the German biathletes, as they say in the image interpretation, will achieve the golden ratio.

The opening week of this biathlon winter should provide the first insights. From Saturday to Sunday next week, the Biathlon World Cup will stop in Kontiolahti, Finland, where there will be ten races for men and women in total, including a relay block on the first weekend and two mass starts in the finale. Traditionally, quite a few German supporters are expected in Finland. And of course she is concerned with the question of how well the German ski hunters are, well, in shape.

Perhaps Franziska Preuß would have been decorated much more highly if her own body hadn’t repeatedly forced her to take long career breaks. On Wednesday, however, she boarded the plane heading north, obviously in perfect health, as they would say at home in Ruhpolding. After two winters marked by infections and an “unpleasant” operation on her sinuses, Preuß explained before her departure that she now feels “really good physically” and “satisfied”.

In March, Preuß underwent the procedure, which was apparently urgently necessary – and perhaps crucial to her being more stable in the future. She is “glad that they found something that explains why I was so vulnerable,” says Preuss. “I hope that the medical theory is correct and things will get better now.”

Preuß and the DSV should have good memories of Kontiolahti. At the Biathlon World Championships there almost ten years ago, Preuß, then 21, achieved two of the best races of her career. With the World Cup women’s relay, she was second of four runners to win the gold medal, before winning silver in the mass start a day later. Ten years later, she says: “If I’m healthy and don’t have a major breakdown, I know I’ll always be competitive.”

In March 2015 she was the youngest to take part in the Kontiolahti relay race with Franziska Hildebrand, Vanessa Hinz and final runner Laura Dahlmeier. Preuß is now the senior member of the team and is surrounded by youngsters. Selina Grotian, 20, already showed her potential in the World Cup last season. New at the start are Julia Kink, who is also 20 years old, and her roommate Julia Tannheimer from Ulm, at 19 the so-called chick, and 22-year-old Johanna Puff from Rosenheim. They could all benefit from the new starting number rule, which allows less established athletes to start the race earlier. The German biathlon sports director Felix Bitterling recently explained in an interview with the SZ that he sees several “diamonds in the rough” among women. The experienced Preuß and Vanessa Voigt, 27, also at the start in Kontiolahti, may now help with the grinding.

Start of the biathlon season

:Trouble with the number

A new rule applies in biathlon: the world’s best ski hunters no longer start at the beginning of the competition – but towards the end. Top athletes complain about being disadvantaged, but there are also dissenting voices.

The German men’s squad in Kontiolahti is significantly more experienced. Johannes Kühn, 33, as the twelfth best German in the overall World Cup 2023/24, Philipp Nawrath, 31, who, like Preuß, temporarily took the yellow jersey for the best overall, and sniper Justus Strelow, 27, are likely to be appointed full-time by the DSV to fill Doll’s gap. There are also David Zobel from Partenkirchen, 28, Philipp Horn (SC Frankenhain), 30, and Danilo Riethmüller from Saxony. The 25-year-old recently “caused quite a stir” in Antholz, the USA and Canada with World Cup ranks seven, nine, 16 and 23, as biathlon boss Bitterling says.