The German biathletes had a wasted day at the mass start in Oslo without Franziska Preuß and clearly missed the top 10. Lena Häcki-Groß, on the other hand, once again surprised the world elite.
The Swiss won on Saturday (March 2nd, 2024) after two misses ahead of the Frenchwoman Julia Simon (4 mistakes / +16.8 seconds) and her compatriot Lou Jeanmonnot (3 / +22.3). For Häcki-Groß it was only the second World Cup victory of her career. She had already won the individual in Antholz in January and surprised the competition.
Häcki-Groß had fallen in the individual competition the day before and had started the race in poor condition. “After yesterday I just thought, today is a new day. My whole team built me up. I am grateful for everyone who supported me“, said the winner afterwards on ZDF.
German biathletes disappoint
The German biathletes were unable to make an impact at the traditional Holmenkollen in the absence of Franziska Preuß, who was ill. Sophia Schneider was the best DSV athlete in 18th place (3 errors), but was already almost 90 seconds behind Häcki-Groß at the finish. Individual vice world champion Janina Hettich-Walz also had little success. After four shooting errors, she came 20th (+1:49.5 minutes).
Johanna Puff finished the race three places behind her (3 errors / 2:21.2). For her, taking part in the mass start was already a success. Vanessa Voigt, on the other hand, had a pitch-black day. After a total of five missed shots, the Thuringian crossed the finish line in distant 25th place (+2:54.1) and shed tears of disappointment.
Voigt starts strong and fades away strongly
Right from the first prone stage, the top athletes around previous day’s winner Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold showed nerves and made a few missed shots. Voigt, on the other hand, remained at the front thanks to a flawless performance. Schneider also hit all five targets, but had already lost a few seconds on the cross-country ski trail. Puff (1 mistake) and Hettich-Walz, who missed twice, also had to move further back in the field.
By the second shooting, Voigt had to lose a few places. At the shooting range, however, things got tough: after the first two targets fell, the Thuringian then had to deal with three missed shots, which took her out of the race early on. Schneider kept her gap to the Swiss Amy Baserga, who was somewhat surprisingly leading at the time, somewhat limited, whereas Puff and Hettich-Walz were able to make up places with a mistake-free performance.
Häcki-Groß outdoes Simon
Lisa Vittozzi and Julia Simon then showed off their strengths on the course and were in the top group until the first standing stage. But once again no athlete was able to gain a decisive advantage as many mistakes were made again. The German quartet also had to accept the next penalty laps and lost further ground on the top 10. Voigt in particular had to struggle a lot in 28th place.
In the final standing position, Julia Simon fired the first shot, but only Häcki-Groß, who took the lead, made a mistake. Behind her, the other favorites also all scored penalties and had to catch up with the Swiss at the top by at least 19 seconds. From the German perspective, once again there was no error-free shooting. In the fight for the day’s victory, Häcki-Groß finally defended her lead over Simon and brought her second World Cup victory to the finish line.