Maintaining a good mood was a big task that afternoon. Not just a puddle, but a small lake had formed in the middle of the biathlon arena in Oberhof, and on the cross-country ski trail: mud. How can you still have fun with sport? In any case, he was ahead of World Cup leader Franziska Preuß with 28th place; the 30-year-old complained that she had been made to trudge through “wet mud”. But then there were two Germans who were happy, despite the wetness: Julia Tannheimer and Selina Grotian. And that was a reflection of this season. One of them is always smiling, at least.
You have to dig through the biathlon statistics for a long time to find a similarly successful start to the season by the German Ski Association (DSV): In Preuß, Vanessa Voigt and Grotian, three Germans started the new year in the top ten in the overall ranking, a similar result last time 2015 to book. In between there are many years in which athletes like Laura Dahlmeier and Denise Herrmann-Wick led the way with their successes, but behind them: a lot of uncertainty and a lot of catching up to do. Can German biathlon now breathe a sigh of relief?
The big question is: What are the results worth for the World Cup?
Well, at least there are bright spots even on gloomy days like the one in Oberhof. On days when the experienced ones like Preuß and Voigt have problems. Julia Tannheimer, 19 years old, completed the sprint in Oberhof with ninth place as the best German ahead of Selina Grotian, 20, and Tannheimer made it clear that she had recently been able to regain her self-confidence. “I thought at the shooting range that things were going well; things have actually always worked well over the last few weeks,” she said.
This is perhaps the greatest achievement of this surprising start to the season, in which Tannheimer had already finished sixth and fifth. Sports director Felix Bitterling said it was extremely important for the young athletes on the team “that they simply knew they could do it”. So move into areas where the best are honored. “This is more important than any victory,” he said. So much is a matter of your mind in your sport.
:All dates for the biathlon competitions at a glance
Sprint, mass start, pursuit and relay races: this season the biathletes will stop at ten stations. An overview of when which race and where the World Cup takes place.
The Germans now need to preserve this feeling for as long as possible, ideally until the World Cup in a month. However, ranking among the world’s best is unusually difficult this year: the international competition is weakening so much that there are currently no favorites.
A number of prominent winners are struggling with problems this season: Lisa Vittozzi, the overall winner of the previous winter from Italy, is suffering from such severe back pain that she has already ended her season; also with a view to the home Olympics in 2026. Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, decorated with ten World Cup medals and third overall in the World Cup last year, even had to undergo heart surgery and completed her first race in Oberhof after a long break, she managed It is in 15th place. Other high-starters of recent years such as Elvira Öberg from Sweden and Lena Häcki-Groß from Switzerland have also stumbled recently. A gap that German women have now found themselves in. And of course they also want to compete with the best. “We are happy that Ingrid is here because she is a strong competitor,” said Vanessa Voigt, and also with regard to Vittozzi: “It’s not nice when last year’s overall winner isn’t there.”
Preuß has enough of a lead to go to Ruhpolding in the yellow jersey
Franziska Preuß was often not there when it came to anything countable; she seems to have overcome her great susceptibility to infections with an operation on her nasal sinuses. Perfect timing to pull away from the front: no one has started the new year with as big a lead as Preuss in a few years. Even after her damned sprint on Thursday, 185 points ahead of second-placed Lou Jeanmonnot from France ensures the luxury that Preuß will travel to her home World Cup in Ruhpolding in the yellow jersey, regardless of the outcome of the pursuit race on Saturday. The fact that she doesn’t want to see her lead disappear also speaks for her self-confidence and her desire to stay at the top.
“It wasn’t a good day today,” said Preuss, disappointed after the sprint, at the shooting range: three mistakes, gusts plagued her. And on the cross-country ski trail: more mud than snow, making it uncomfortable for the skis to glide. “Every child knows that it gets deeper and deeper when it rains,” she said, which is why she would have liked the jury to intervene so that she could start earlier. Since this season, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has divided the best athletes into the third starting group instead of the first in order to keep the spectators’ attention longer. In adverse conditions, disadvantages can arise if the route becomes increasingly softer as the rain increases, as in Oberhof. Exceptions are possible precisely for such cases – but the jury’s deliberation before the race did not result in such an exception. “I don’t understand that,” said Preuss. But she didn’t want to see her 28th place as the sole reason for that.
It was therefore important for Preuß to get up for the pursuer, and sometimes it helps to see a few smiling faces in your own team. The women’s successes at the start of the season brought a “very positive mood into the whole team,” said Bitterling, and some people felt “motivated” by it. And that’s it: a long-missed condition in German biathlon.
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