It actually looked like she could do it. Biathlete Franziska Preuß had hit 20 of 20 Swedish targets, and after the last shooting she was twelve seconds ahead of the Italian Lisa Vittozzi, who had been the leader to date and ran very quickly. She was already at the finish and the final lap began for Preuß. “I heard the time at the stand exit and knew it could be really close,” the Upper Bavarian later said on ARD. She “still felt relatively good and thought to myself: don’t worry.” So Upper Bavarian for: don’t rush. Maybe she should have huddled a little bit.
Just two weeks ago, Preuß was appointed to the German Ski Association’s Biathlon World Cup team by her coach. In the first individual competition of the season, the 29-year-old narrowly missed out on her second World Cup victory. Behind the finish line, winner Vittozzi was 0.1 seconds behind, the smallest gap that can be measured in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race. That was “on the one hand a bit annoying,” said Preuss. But: “I’m super happy where I come from now.”
Sometimes the shortest possible distance obviously requires a great distance. This is the story of biathlete Franziska Preuß, who recently seriously considered quitting. She spent two months in Thailand, without snow or winter sports. Most Thais don’t even know what biathlon is about, said Preuß. In fact, this spatial and emotional distance helped her make a decision. Does she continue – or does she stop?
There had recently been enough reasons for such considerations. Illnesses and injuries had severely slowed Franziska Preuß’s promising career over the past two winters. At the end of 2021 she fell on a staircase and sprained her ankle, then corona disease made her life difficult. She was completely out of shape for the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The following year things didn’t get any better, on the contrary. Preuß ended last season prematurely in January due to ongoing health problems and missed the home World Cup in Oberhof. Preuss was at the bottom. And is now at the top again, almost all the way.
Before the season there were doubts as to whether the Germans would be competitive
Simon Schempp bit into the sofa after Preuss crossed the finish line, it was reported on ARD. This is worth mentioning because Schempp is not only Preuß’ partner, but was himself a biathlon professional – and most recently apparently also a biathlete pastor. Preuss recently explained that her boyfriend was an important support for her on the way back. She obviously needed this time as well as patience and perseverance, probably also because of the virus infection. In any case, she didn’t hustle, and Östersund’s individual left indications that she didn’t choose the worst strategy, except perhaps in the last few meters.
Before the start of this winter sports season, there were quite a few doubts in the German nation, which is very fond of biathlon, about the competitiveness of the DSV representatives. Not least because the best and most successful German biathlete in recent years had ended her career. Olympic champion and world champion Denise Herrmann-Wick had recorded all of the women’s World Cup individual podiums in the previous season with three victories and two third places, won three medals in Oberhof and thus sometimes concealed the achievements of the others. The younger athletes “must now step out of the shadows,” said the former exceptional athlete Uschi Disl in the SZ interview. On Sunday in Östersund it seemed as if her successors had heard her.
Sophia Schneider makes a mistake – otherwise it would have been victory
Of course, Preuss and its virtual resurrection is the story of this weekend in Östersund. The women’s singles on Sunday also left evidence that other German biathletes are also apparently in unexpected early form. This even surprised head coach Kristian Mehringer, he “didn’t expect this team performance”: Vanessa Voigt, like Preuß, was one of four of the 101 athletes who started and achieved four flawless shooting units, which ultimately gave the Thuringian third place, 10.1 seconds behind. The fastest DSV starter on the cross-country ski trail was Sophia Schneider from Chiemgau (1 error/+ 1:01.0 minutes). If she hadn’t missed a shot while standing in the final shooting, she might even have won the race and taken her first World Cup victory. After all: Like her two teammates, she immediately achieved the World Championship standard in the first race.