World Cup in Östersund
Double yellow: new German biathlon fairy tale
The German biathletes made a big impression at the start of the season in Östersund. photo
© Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/AP/dpa
Germany’s biathletes are off to an outstanding start to the winter. In Sweden there are not only podium places like never before, but also yellow jerseys. Will it continue like this?
To crown the best German biathlon start in history, Franziska Preuß and Philipp Nawrath is celebrating again on the podium – and in their yellow jerseys too.
As leaders of the respective overall rankings, the German duo sensationally finished the fairytale World Cup in Östersund and will take the coveted bibs with them to the next stop in Hochfilzen, Austria, starting on Friday. “I am very happy that I am keeping the jersey and am very motivated to defend it for as long as possible,” said Preuß to the German Press Agency.
DSV’s best start to the season
While Preuß had to accept a final sprint in the pursuit that was narrowly lost by 0.3 seconds, Nawrath missed his second career victory within two days by only 5.1 seconds. A good 24 hours after his surprising sprint triumph, the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson ended up overtaking the strong Allgäu native. “It was a nice feeling to put on the yellow. I’m also very happy with the race,” said Nawrath.
The disappointment was limited, however, because ten podium places in the first races of the season meant a performance that had never been seen before for the DSV ski hunters. Only in 2001 was it enough to reach the podium nine times. “The time here was really good for the whole team. We as a team are really happy about the results,” said Preuß: “Of course we all hope that it continues like this.”
Preuß and Nawrath second in pursuit
For the first time she went into the pursuit in yellow and only had to admit defeat to the French sprint winner Lou Jeanmonnot in the last few meters. Behind her, Thuringia’s Vanessa Voigt came in a strong third, as she did in the individual. “The track is very tough, you don’t get more horsepower just because you have the yellow number,” said Preuß.
In the opening individual she only missed victory by 0.1 seconds. After many setbacks, she was thinking about ending her career just a few weeks ago. Now, like Laura Dahlmeier in 2017, she retains the coveted front runner’s bib and will therefore be competing in the Alps not far from her adopted home of Ruhpolding next week.
After Olympic champion and world champion Denise Herrmann-Wick retired in the spring, no one dared to dream of such a start. There were great concerns that it would be a dreary winter without any victories. But the good early form and perfect material after the new fluorine wax ban catapulted the Germans forward.
National coach Velepec: “historic moment”
“It’s slowly becoming difficult to find the right words for these achievements,” said sports director Felix Bitterling. The premiere victories for the veterans Roman Rees in the individual and Nawrath (both 30), three Germans alternating at the top of the World Cup, plus podium places for both relays as well as two for Vanessa Voigt and one for Justus Strelow and Nawrath again.
On a crazy day, Nawrath initially took the yellow jersey from his teammate Rees in a sprint. Three Germans were suddenly ahead in the overall standings before Rees, who was slightly injured, had to withdraw from the pursuit to be on the safe side. “This is a historic moment,” said national coach Uros Velepec about this constellation, but immediately added: “We don’t think we will stay like this for very long, but we will enjoy the moment. This is a dream day for us.”
Now the pressure is increasing
And the 56-year-old Slovenian was not right. Because Nawrath actually managed to defend the bib despite extremely strong competition. He even came to the last shooting in the lead, but then had to go into the penalty loop like his pursuer Samuelsson (3 errors in total). In the last few kilometers Nawrath (2 mistakes) couldn’t quite keep up. The Norwegian Vetle Sjastad Christiansen came third (1/+ 7.2 seconds).
With the successes, the pressure on the DSV ski hunters will probably increase. “You shouldn’t totally freak out now, but stay calm. This is just the beginning of a long season, a lot can happen,” said two-time Olympic champion Dahlmeier to the dpa. The 30-year-old was there herself in Östersund as a ZDF expert and was a little surprised at how well things are already going. There is still a long time until the World Cup in February in the Czech Republic. Above all, Dahlmeier expects a lot from her successor Preuß: You have to keep working constantly and calmly, said the seven-time world champion: “Then it is definitely possible to wear a jersey like that the whole season.”