4.4 seconds are missing from victory
Flying Frenchwoman pushes Preuss from the home throne
January 5, 2024, 4:24 p.m
The fans in Oberhof are still cheering about Benedikt Doll’s sprint victory, but Franziska Preuß is already following suit. She narrowly missed victory at the home World Cup. Janina Hettich-Walz is also in great shape.
Biathlete Franziska Preuß narrowly missed out on her second World Cup victory at her home World Cup in Oberhof. The 29-year-old came in a strong second place in the 7.5 kilometer sprint thanks to faultless shooting and was only 4.4 seconds behind the Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who had two faults. The best runner in the field turned a deficit of 24.1 seconds into her fourth win in a row on the final lap. What a spectacular comeback.
“I had to fight a bit on the track at the end,” said the Bavarian: “Nevertheless, I’m super happy about second place.”
For Preuß it was her third second place of the winter; she celebrated her only World Cup success in the mass start in Ruhpolding in January 2019. Behind her, Janina Hettich-Walz (0 penalties/+23.8 seconds) achieved her best World Cup result in fifth place. Third-placed Sophie Chauveau (1/+4.6) from France was almost 20 seconds short of her first podium finish.
Last year, Denise Herrmann-Wick, who has since retired, was crowned world champion in the sprint at the same place. The Thuringian Vanessa Voigt (0/+53.2) came 13th in her home race, closely followed by Sophia Schneider (1/+54.3) in 15th place in her comeback after illness.
A few hours earlier, teammate Benedikt Doll had won the men’s sprint. With a mistake on his last shot, he finished 1.8 seconds ahead of the Norwegian Sturla Holm Lägreid.
On Saturday the women will be in a good starting position for the 10 kilometer pursuit (2.40 p.m.), then it will be significantly colder in the Thuringian Forest. On Sunday (2.25 p.m./both ARD and Eurosport) The women are aiming for the podium again in the relay after their fifth place in Hochfilzen.