“This is really crazy”
Voigt is amazed at her biathlon coup
03/11/2022, 4:23 p.m
The German biathletes are in outstanding form after the Olympic Games. Vanessa Voigt surprisingly made it onto the podium in the Otepää sprint, while Denise Hermann narrowly missed out. Franziska Preuss, on the other hand, is not satisfied on her birthday.
Vanessa Voigt shook her head in disbelief. “I’m kind of speechless. It’s really crazy,” said the 24-year-old after her strong second place in the Otepää biathlon sprint. Although Voigt missed the first World Cup victory of her young career by eleven seconds, she could live with that after a flawless race over 7.5 kilometers. After all, she made it onto the podium for the first time ever. “I’m really looking forward to the podium. Who would have thought that before the season,” she said on ARD.
Voigt once again underlined her great talent in her first full World Cup season. Only the Frenchwoman Julia Simon, who missed once, was a little faster than the biathlete from Oberhof, who turned up the heat especially in the final lap. “When it comes to sausages,” says Voigt, “I can get extra power out of my body. I don’t know where I get that from.” Does not matter. “She’s having a great season, it’s a dream come true for her,” said Franziska Hildebrand in praise of her up-and-coming teammate. Sixth place in the World Cup had been Voigt’s best result so far. At the Olympic Games in Beijing, she had finished fourth in the singles.
Denise Herrmann had triumphed in that race. The Olympic champion rounded off a strong day for the German Ski Association (DSV) team in fourth place in Otepää. The 33-year-old missed a shooting error by 3.3 seconds on the podium, which was completed by Karoline Offigstad Knotten from Norway. She “left too much time at the shooting range.” Nevertheless: It was “a really cool team result”, stressed Herrmann, who underlined her very good late form. Most recently in Kontiolahti she had shone with places one and three. Franziska Preuss finished twelfth on her 28th birthday after two penalties. “I would have wished for a better present.”
On Saturday (1.00 p.m. and 3.15 p.m./ARD and Eurosport) the men’s and women’s mass start races continue. The mixed (12.30) and the single mixed relay (15.15) will follow on Sunday. The World Cup finals will take place at Holmenkollen in Oslo from March 17th to 20th.