is he coming? A Johannes Thinges squall can still come, so Benedikt Doll couldn’t have had it any more uncomfortable on the last lap of the mass start in Antholz. So Doll ran – no, he fled like a pickpocket from the police. A seven-second lead became 15, Doll kept looking over his shoulder, but there was only snow and forest behind him. Even when turning onto the home straight, Doll still wanted to make sure that this victory was really his. He’s not just anyone himself, after all, that’s what they say about him in the German team: Doll can do anything on a good day.
Doll is currently trying to accumulate good days and save them in the archive under “S” for self-confidence. The 31-year-old had to wait a long time for her, his last World Cup victory was more than two years ago. Most recently, in second place in the Ruhpolding sprint, he cried with relief, so much tension had built up in the meantime. In terms of skiing, he had to work his way back this season, but he had all too often robbed himself of success on the shooting range with avoidable errors. He was “incredibly happy” and proud, said Doll now in Antholz, he was able to sink 19 of 20 targets – and the timing of his victory in the last individual race before the Olympics could hardly be better.
Standing is gust better than doll – usually
Doll has always had a talent for running, he has to put most of his work into shooting. He has improved the technology over the years, optimized the reaction based on the wind conditions. He now hits an average of 84 percent of the targets, which is only three percent less than the World Cup leader, Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet. But Doll is prone to digress. For mistakes that end up far away from the goal, not because of a lack of skill, but because of concentration. A problem that he overcame in Antholz: “I was able to keep my nerve when shooting, stay with me and not get distracted.”
In the mass start, turning off your mind is especially challenging when the competitor is head-to-head for victory, a shoulder away. Doll and Bö were ahead of the rest of the field halfway through the race, then it was down to final standing, which the Norwegian usually suits better than the German. But Bö said goodbye with one mistake in the penalty loop, Doll still had three targets to sink. Usually the moment when the thoughts pop up. “I noticed that he made a mistake,” said Doll on the ARD microphone, “I worked hard this year to be able to turn it off.” And so he started the last round with five hits.
At the finish he thanked Bö in perhaps a typical Doll manner. “Thanks for not chasing me,” he said. Almost as if this victory was not due to him, but to the goodwill of his opponent. But Bö was simply broken and ended up 31.3 seconds behind. “Today I went for the win, I really believed in being able to win,” said the Norwegian, sometimes you have to risk pulling away from the others. But the mistake at the last shooting was one too many, “I put a little too much energy into the first four laps”. The 28-year-old completed three penalties in total, as did compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid, who finished almost a minute behind him.
Doll’s victory gives the team a real boost, says the sport director
This season, the French, Norwegians and Swedes have often decided the victories among themselves, in Doll and Johannes Kühn the German team goes to Beijing with two winners. “Keeping up with Johannes Thingnes Bö in running gives him and the whole team a real boost towards the Olympics,” said Sport Director Bernd Eisenbichler. He can now start the preparation more relaxed, said Doll, “I know everything is fine, I’m fast and I can show good shooting.”
In 2017 he became sprint world champion in Hochfilzen and he already has two Olympic medals: bronze in the relay and in the pursuit in Pyeongchang in 2018. He managed the latter with 19 of 20 possible hits. On a good day he can.