biathlon
Doll rewards himself with World Cup bronze: “I’m incredibly proud”
Won the first medal for the German men at the World Championships in Nove Mesto: Benedikt Doll. photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
For the first time, the Norwegians do not win all the medals at the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto. Benedikt Doll takes bronze in the individual and redeems the German men.
“I’m incredibly proud that I stayed so cool on the shooting range,” said the 33-year-old after taking third place in the difficult individual. After a shooting error, he only had to admit defeat to the Norwegian brothers Johannes Thingnes Bö and Tarjei Bö. Both also had one penalty minute each.
One day after the surprising silver for Janina Hettich-Walz among the women, Doll also brought the hoped-for redemption among the men of the German Ski Association with the second World Cup individual medal of his career. After 20 kilometers, Doll finished 1:53.2 minutes behind the old and new champion Bö. “Today everything came together. I’m incredibly happy that I was able to prove it to myself again,” said Doll on ZDF and added: “I didn’t go to the shooting range and be afraid, but I had fun and joy. “
Gust on the trail of Björndalen
Meanwhile, Bö successfully defended his title and also won the 19th World Championship gold of his career. It was his second triumph in the Czech Republic. Now Bö is just one title away from catching up with record world champion Ole Einar Björndalen. Even a shooting mistake couldn’t stop the dominator; only his older brother Tarjei, who also made a mistake, came close. The Norwegians had previously celebrated a triple success in the sprint and a five-fold triumph in the chase race. Doll became the first non-Norwegian to win an individual medal in Nove Mesto.
After two sprint victories, he had high hopes for the highlight of the season. At the World Championships, however, he had only finished 13th (sprint) and 16th (pursuit). With three perfect shooting performances, the Black Forester then increased the pressure on the competition in the longest of all biathlon races. In the atmospheric Vysocina Arena, Doll was initially in the lead, but despite a penalty minute, Bö passed after the third shooting. Doll made a mistake in the last standing stage, but since the competition also made mistakes, it almost didn’t matter in the end.
For Doll it is the second World Cup individual medal. In 2017 he sensationally won gold in Hochfilzen and spectacularly prevailed in the sprint with just 0.7 seconds ahead of the gust. This was followed by five more career victories – the last two of which came this season. He triumphed over ten kilometers in both Lenzerheide and Oberhof. Recently, however, he had major problems at the shooting range and had to make adjustments. Doll shot technically incorrectly, the basic elements no longer fit. We went back to fine tuning with the laser. But in Nove Mesto he initially made two mistakes in the sprint and four mistakes in the chase race.
Doll has already indicated his resignation several times
Even before that, penalties or penalty minutes had often cost him better results in his career. Before this winter, probably his last as a professional athlete, he had a new weapon built. Doll leaves it open whether he will continue to use this beyond the end of the season or whether he will devote more time to his wife and their son. Although he has already indicated several times that he would resign, he is yet to announce a decision.
His teammates had nothing to do with the decision and missed the top ten. Roman Rees was also the second best German with two errors. Johannes Kühn (4) and Philipp Horn (5) placed further back.
The Germans have their next big chance to win a medal on Thursday (6 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) in the single mixed relay. Almost a month after their first World Cup victory, Vanessa Voigt and Justus Strelow go into the cross-country ski run as co-favorites after recent strong shooting performances. Strelow from Saxony was spared in the individual for the turbulent competition, while Voigt from Thuringia gained self-confidence for the task with fifth place in the individual on Tuesday after 20 perfectly hit shots.