biathlon
Herrmann-Wick with silver: next biathlon party
Silver in the pursuit of the World Cup: biathlete Denise Herrmann-Wick (l) at the shooting range. photo
© Martin Schutt/dpa
Denise Herrmann-Wick wins her second World Championship medal. It would almost have been the second biathlon title. Only a French is better. For men, the Norwegians are unbeatable.
With a deafening noise, Denise Herrmann-Wick jumped back onto the podium in the Oberhof witches’ cauldron and sparked the next biathlon party with her second World Cup medal. Two days after her gold coup in the sprint, the Olympic champion also won silver in the pursuit.
For a long time, the second title at the atmospheric home game in Thuringia was within reach for the Saxon, but two penalties in the decisive final shooting were too much. With a total of four shooting errors, the 34-year-old was 27.0 seconds behind the French overall World Cup leader Julia Simon (1 error). Bronze went to Marte Olsbu Röiseland (3) from Norway.
“It was really tough today. It was a cool race and right from the start the atmosphere is really, really cool,” said Herrmann-Wick. If she had won gold again, she would have been the first German since Andrea Henkel 15 years ago to do so in a sprint and pursuit at a World Championships. “I wanted to score at the end, but I got the short end of the stick.” It was “not that easy” with the load in front of 23,500 fans.
Men catch up in the pursuer
It was anything but easy for the German men, too. Johannes Kühn was the best of the DSV-Skijäger as eighth in the sprint and sixth in the pursuit. Two mistakes in the last standing stage cost Bayern a chance for a medal on Sunday. Roman Rees made it into the top ten in tenth place. While dominator Johannes Thingnes Bö from Norway won both gold medals and has now collected three titles at the season’s highlight, ex-world champion Benedikt Doll experienced different days. After 55th place in the sprint, there was still 15th place in the chase race.
“I gave it my all again on the final lap,” said Herrmann-Wick meanwhile. But the exertion didn’t bring her close enough to Simon, who was in a good mood. “I’ve noticed that my legs need a bit of rest,” she said, and praised the German fans: “That was the peak of the mood.”
From a German point of view, Laura Dahlmeier last won medals in sprint and pursuit at the same World Cup in Östersund in 2019. Herrmann-Wick already won the pursuit title in the title fights back then, and the former cross-country skier has now collected eight world championship medals. The next chance is on Wednesday in singles. For the German team it was the second medal in the fourth competition in Oberhof.
Debutantes Schneider and Kebinger strong
Sophia Schneider (4) in fifth place and Hanna Kebinger (2) in eighth place ensured a strong team result. “Of course it was a great performance in the team, that makes the day even better today,” said Herrmann-Wick: “It’s a really good sign, especially for the young girls. The offspring are really good, there the train really starts moving forward.”
The 25-year-old Schneider was even on the bronze rank shortly before the end, but could not withstand the pressure in the last standing stage. “I was really close,” said Schneider, who was not annoyed for long and wants to learn from it: “I tried to hide it, but I didn’t quite succeed.”
A day earlier, Herrmann-Wick had received her gold at an emotional ceremony in the Oberhof Kurpark. In addition to the entire German team, 5,500 fans came and created goosebumps. “It’s unbelievable. I almost had a higher pulse than at the competition,” she said: “It’s so nice when you see the faces. There’s just nothing more beautiful.”
Herrmann-Wick danced to the unofficial German World Cup anthem “The train has no brakes” in the spotlight. “It just stays forever. You have to enjoy the moment sometimes,” said Herrmann-Wick, who got teary-eyed at the national anthem: “It shows up what you’ve been through and invested in.”
Chances until the last round
In the pursuit, Herrmann-Wick left the track in fog two seconds ahead of sprint runner-up Hanna Öberg. Both had a penalty loop right after the first shooting, Simon caught up from behind. On the hard course with the dreaded Birxsteig as the steepest climb, a tight race developed in which Herrmann-Wick was leading again before the second shooting. Because Öberg had to go into the penalty loop twice and Linn Persson even three times in diffuse light, the Saxon skier pulled away without a hitch and was 23 seconds ahead of fast shooter Simon. In the cross-country ski run, the German showed her strong form and extended the lead to about half a minute before the first standing stage.
This was gone after the second shooting error because Simon cleared all the targets for the third time. After another fast lap, Herrmann-Wick went into the decisive fourth stage with a slight lead. Two penalties destroyed all gold dreams, but there was still a party polonaise with the team through the stadium. “There’s no shame in not passing, but of course that’s the goal for the next races,” said Herrmann-Wick.
Information on the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof Biathlon in the German Ski Association Biathlon World Cup calendar