Winter Games 2022
Biathlete Denise Herrmann wins gold over 15 kilometers
Biathlete Denise Herrmann wins the gold medal in the individual race at the 2022 Winter Olympics
© Clive Rose / Getty Images
A very strong performance by the German biathlete Denise Herrmann: the German won the gold medal in the women’s individual race over 15 kilometers.
Biathlete Denise Herrmann is a sensational Olympic champion over 15 kilometers and brought the German team their second gold at the Winter Games in China after the triumph of tobogganist Johannes Ludwig. The 33-year-old from Oberwiesenthal made just one shooting error on Monday and was the first German since Andrea Henkel to decide the supreme discipline in biathlon in her favor at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
“Fantastic! I certainly didn’t expect that,” said the President of the German Ski Association, Franz Steinle. After Olympic bronze with the cross-country relay in 2014, it was Herrmann’s first medal in biathlon.
Silver went to the French Anais Chevalier-Bouchet in front of the German IOC President Thomas Bach, bronze went to Marte Olsbu Röiseland from Norway. Olympic debutant Vanessa Voigt showed a strong performance this time after her failed debut in the mixed relay and took fourth place.
Wind was more manageable than mixed relay
In much better conditions with less wind than in the mixed relay on Saturday, Herrmann got off to a good start and hit the first five shots both prone and standing. “The wind is more manageable today,” said women’s national coach Kristian Mehringer before the race.
However, not all of the favorites were so accurate, the Norwegian Tiril Eckhoff missed two targets while standing. Herrmann missed the 13th attempt in the second prone stage and received a penalty. But the 33-year-old stayed cool with the last five shots. World champion Marketa Davidova from the Czech Republic, on the other hand, missed the 20th and last shot and was no longer able to endanger Herrmann. After the unfortunate start and fifth place in the mixed relay, the German biathlon team was able to build on its golden times at the Olympics in China surprisingly early on.
Herrmann has fully prepared for Beijing
Herrmann had focused all of his preparations over the past few years on the Olympics. Altitude training, tinkering with the weapon, lots of drudgery in the summer – she didn’t want to leave anything to chance for her big dream. The current season got off to a strong start with Östersund’s third place in the individual, but things didn’t go well for the Ruhpolding native after that.
Above all, many mistakes at the shooting range caused poor results. Low points were a 41st place in the pursuit of Oberhof with eight shooting errors and a botched Olympic dress rehearsal with rank 23 in Antholz.
But Herrmann continued to believe in himself. “I can say to myself: I tried everything, gave everything. That’s the main thing for me,” she said after arriving in China about her intensive training. Many doubted whether she would be able to bring everything together again when she was older like she did in 2019. At that time she had become sensational world champion in pursuit in Sweden and had proved that the change from cross-country skiing in 2016 was worth it.