Speechless with Superman cape
Herrmann-Wick says goodbye with tears
03/19/2023 5:43 p.m
A place in the Norwegian royal box, a small crystal ball and the outfit of a superheroine: Denise Herrmann-Wick says goodbye to biathlon for the time being with an eventful weekend of competition. In sixth place, she is the second best German at the end.
Completely overwhelmed by her feelings, Denise Herrmann-Wick shed tears in the finish area. After the last few meters of her great biathlon career, the Olympic champion could hardly save herself from hugs. “It’s all totally overwhelming right now. It’s not in my head that it should be over now,” she said.
Then Herrmann-Wick slipped on a red Superman cape with the “D” printed on it and splashed wildly with sparkling wine. With her triumph in the sprint in Oslo, the world champion had shown it to everyone the day before. In the unloved mass start, in deep fog at the famous Holmenkollen, she finally retired from biathlon as a strong sixth despite three shooting errors. The last race “demanded everything again,” Herrmann-Wick revealed on ARD: “It’s just a nice finish to have everyone there again. I’m a bit speechless.”
In the shadow of the emotional farewell, one of her teammates delighted with her best career result: Hanna Kebinger only missed once and missed the podium by three seconds. “I can only smile all over my face. It’s incredible,” she said: “Maybe next year I can go a step further.”
Herrmann-Wick had already achieved her final masterpiece the day before after two flawless shooting bouts. With her sprint victory, she was allowed to sit in the Norwegian king’s box for the first time on her last World Cup trip to Oslo – and chat with Harald V. with a big grin on her face. On top of that, as in the 2019/20 season, she secured the small crystal globe for the discipline rating. Since the sprint had been postponed by one day due to heavy fog on Friday, the pursuit was cancelled.
After Magdalena Neuner, who resigned in 2011 at the age of only 24, and Laura Dahlmeier, who lost motivation in 2019 at the age of 25, the German Ski Association loses another figurehead. Four-time junior world champion Selina Grotian, who made a solid World Cup debut in the Oslo sprint in 40th place, is considered a possible long-term successor.