Tannheimer, Kink, Puff
A large generation is growing up in German biathlon
March 6, 2024, 6:35 p.m
Tannheimer, Kink, Puff – the names of these biathlon talents are hardly familiar to the general public. But that could soon change. The big question accompanying the rise of female athletes is: How long does it take to close the gap to the world’s best?
Biathlon is not yet the most important thing for Julia Tannheimer. The ambitious 18-year-old first wants to graduate from high school with top grades in April, but then the path will be clear for a career in the World Cup. “After the last IBU Cup, Julia is preparing for her Abitur at her own request, which we expressly support,” said Felix Bitterling, Biathlon Sports Director at the German Ski Association. The two-time junior world champion, who celebrated her highly acclaimed World Cup debut in Ruhpolding in January, belongs, together with Selina Grotian (19), Julia Kink (20) and Johanna Puff (21), to a quartet of the most promising young talents among the German ski hunters .
Instead of Tannheimer, her namesake Julia Kink is now taking part in the first of the last two World Cups of the season and can hope for her World Cup debut in the races starting on Friday in Soldier Hollow/USA (live on ARD and Eurosport). Last week she also won two gold medals at the Junior World Championships in Otepää, in the mass start and with Tannheimer in the relay. Bitterling said she earned the start through “her good performances over the course of the season.” She replaces Franziska Preuß, who is still ill.
“I’m really looking forward to getting a taste of the World Cup, and going to the USA and Canada is of course a dream,” said Kink. She is full of anticipation and at the same time “a little nervous. I could most likely be that before the first race.”
“The future belongs to you”
Instead, Tannheimer will be competing at the second-class IBU Cup in Obertilliach, Austria, starting on Thursday, before she intensively looks through school books and notes again. Because of school, she had also decided not to start at the World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic in February; a full two-week break would have been too much. “That was primarily my decision,” she told the “Südwest Presse”.
Instead, the three-time youth world champion won two golds and two silvers at the Junior World Championships. Tannheimer represents an “extreme idea of achievement – that applies to school and sports. That shows what her demands are,” said Bitterling, who is convinced: “The future belongs to her.” In order to realize her sporting dream, she left her homeland two and a half years ago and moved to the ski boarding school in Furtwangen.
The overall results at the Junior World Championships in Estonia showed that there is something going on among young German biathlon talent, especially among young women. In the junior medal table, Germany and Norway shared first place with four golds, two silvers and one bronze each. In the youth division, the DSV team won one gold medal thanks to Alma Siegismund (18/singles), who is also considered a promising talent, and one bronze medal in third place. In the juniors, 20-year-old Leonhard Pfund (20) became the individual world champion and is considered a very strong shooter. But the gap there is larger than in the female area.
Patience and setbacks
“There’s definitely a lot to come. The question is always how long it will take to close the gap to the world’s best. But I think the German women are definitely on a very good path,” said double Olympic champion and ZDF expert Laura Dahlmeier last week at the World Cup in Oslo. Reinforcements are needed in the future, because with three medals and no gold in Nove Mesto, things didn’t go as hoped at the World Championships for professionals this winter.
This season, Selina Grotian showed how it can be done. The four-time junior world champion achieved strong results at her World Cup debut with bronze in the relay and fourth place in the individual. The two-time junior world champion Puff was also there, but did not yet play. At the same time, patience is required because setbacks are part of it – something Grotian also experienced this winter. With a view to them, Tannheimer, Kink and Puff, the right amount and the necessary patience is required: introduction to the World Cup team, integration and development. Then something can emerge.