Confident victory for biathlon duo
DSV duo dupes competition at World Cup dress rehearsal
January 20, 2024, 1:35 p.m
Justus Strelow and Vanessa Voigt win the single mixed relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Antholz. The duo wins comfortably ahead of Norway and Austria on the last World Cup weekend before the World Championships. The two Germans particularly shine at the shooting range.
The German biathlon team celebrated victory in the second single mixed competition of the World Cup season after an outstanding performance. In Antholz (Italy) Justus Strelow and Vanessa Voigt (0+1) prevailed, only a spare round prevented a flawless performance. In the end, the duo crossed the finish line 11.2 seconds ahead of Norway (Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold/Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen/0+8) and 28.3 seconds ahead of Austria (Lisa Theresa Hauser/Simon Eder/0+4).
“We stuck with ourselves from the start,” said the Saxon on ARD. “I was very confident in the duels in the first round, which gave me a good flow.” With the German flag in his hand, the 27-year-old trundled to the finish to the cheers of thousands of fans. He would have to look at this moment again later: “I still can’t believe it.”
Voigt, who had finished fourth in the individual the day before, got off to a brilliant start – even a cartridge falling out while shooting couldn’t unsettle her. Strelow followed up seamlessly; the other nations had nothing to oppose the idea. The preliminary decision came in the fourth shooting when Strelow came to the shooting range together with Norway’s Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and hit all five targets. Christiansen, on the other hand, had to reload twice and entered the trail behind.
Voigt confidently maintained his lead with two more error-free shooting sessions, and at the last exchange he handed over with a clear gap to Austria, France and Norway. While there was still a lot of movement behind it, Strelow showed no nerves. It wasn’t until the last shooting that he needed the first and only spare, which didn’t change the outcome of the race. Instead, he even had time to celebrate in the last few meters. It was also the first German victory in single mixed since its introduction in February 2015.
Strelow had already competed in the first single mixed relay of the winter in Östersund, Sweden. Together with Hanna Kebinger, he took seventh place. Later today, Saturday, Janina Hettich-Walz, Sophia Schneider, Johannes Kühn and Benedikt Doll will take part in the mixed relay (2.45 p.m./ARD). At the end of the World Cup dress rehearsal, the mass starts for men (12.30 p.m.) and women (2.45 p.m./all ARD and Eurosport) will follow on Sunday. After that, the World Championships will take place in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, from February 5th to 18th.