World Cup
German biathletes without a podium in the sprint
Janina Hettich-Walz was the only German to reach the top ten in the sprint in Canmore. photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa/archive image
In the last sprint of the season, only Janina Hettich-Walz made it into the top ten in seventh place. She hopes for the next chance in the pursuit.
Also in the last sprint race The German biathletes were unable to create a surprise during the World Cup season; the honoring of the top six took place without them.
As the best of the German sextet, Janina Hettich-Walz missed the flower ceremony in seventh place in Canmore, Canada, but only missed the flower ceremony by 3.5 seconds. “I’m struggling a bit with the shooting time because I repeated a cartridge. But zero mistakes and top ten is a good result for me,” said the 27-year-old, who was the only German to make it to the Italian Lisa Vittozzi’s victory ZDF made the top ten.
This means that with Franziska Preuß, who was missing due to illness, second from Oberhof, there was only one German on the podium in one sprint race this winter. Hettich-Walz is now hoping for the pursuit race on Saturday, in which she is only 31 seconds behind Vittozzi. “This is a good starting position,” said the individual World Cup bronze medalist. All six Germans made it into the hunting race.
Tandrevold wins discipline classification
While Vittozzi gained significant ground with her third success of the season in the long-distance duel for the overall World Cup with the Norwegian Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who still won the sprint discipline ranking in 17th place, coach Kristian Mehringer’s other protégés were unable to intervene in the fight for the top positions . Youngster Selina Grotian (19) came 18th (1 error/+ 1:03.7 minutes). “It was another rock-solid race from her,” said two-time Olympic champion and ZDF expert Laura Dahlmeier appreciatively.
Sophia Schneider (26) crossed the finish line in 20th place (1 mistake/+ 1:09.7). Vanessa Voigt (26), who is otherwise so accurate, made two standing errors and finished the race in 23rd position (+ 1:13 minutes). “I didn’t accelerate too much in the second lap, that was a bit of a wrong tactic. I should have shot at my normal rhythm,” said the Thuringian, who ran the third fastest final lap: “The grain is still there and the self-confidence will come back along the way.” The young hopefuls Johanna Puff (21) and Julia Kink (21) came in 28th and 51st.
Preuß wants to attack again in the new season
As was the case the previous week in Soldier Hollow/USA, ex-relay world champion Preuß was missing from the season finale. The 30-year-old has been battling an infection for the past three weeks, which meant she had to miss the relay at the World Championships in February in Nove Mesto. The problem should be corrected with a minor surgical procedure on the paranasal sinuses. “It’s fixable and I’m pursuing that now,” said the 30-year-old, who has struggled with health setbacks and injuries for almost her entire career. “I hope that everything heals well and that the problems are finally a thing of the past.” She wants to attack again in the new season.
On Friday Benedikt Doll goes into the last sprint race (5.40 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) of his career. The Black Forester, the last individual world champion in the German team, is ending his biathlon career after the season.