This is how the ninth day of the Olympics goes
Debacle can be fatal for biathletes
2/12/2022, 6:39 p.m
The bad performance in the biathlon sprint is a lasting problem for the Germans, because it brings a decent burden for the pursuit. The fight for medals will be difficult. Cross-country skiers also have tough competition – who want to emulate their teammates as much as possible.
Biathlon: The sprint was a debacle for the German biathletes, and the expectations for the pursuit (10 a.m. CET) are correspondingly dampened: the Germans go into the chase race with a big mortgage. Vanessa Voigt is the first of the quartet to start there, but has to catch up on the medals by 54.2 seconds. For Denise Herrmann – already an Olympic champion in the individual – and Franziska Preuss, the podium chances have dropped to a minimum even before the starting gun is fired. Vanessa Hinz, 55th in the sprint after three penalty loops, only just made it into the pursuer. Two-time gold medalist Marte Olsbu Röiseland was the first to start, followed by Swede Elvira Öberg 30.9 seconds behind.
There is also a big favorite for the men’s pursuit (11.45 a.m. CET): Johannes Thighnes Bö. The Olympic sprint and mixed relay champion is in impressive form. From a German point of view, Benedikt Doll still has the best chance of silver or bronze. It would be the longed-for, first medal for the DSV athletes at these games. Doll had finished sixth and eighth so far. In the sprint he was only 26.1 seconds short – the gust is now ahead of him. “Keep calm, shoot well, and if it works well, the medal is definitely within reach,” said Doll. Roman Rees will start the race in 17th place, Philipp Nawrath in 22nd place and Johannes Kühn in number 33.
Alpine skiing: Things are not going well for the alpine men in Beijing. And don’t expect things to get much better in giant slalom (3:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. CET). Alexander Schmid and Julian Rauchfuss were seeded, Linus Straßer will also be the third DSV athlete to take to the slopes. So that he can run in for the slalom. “It can’t do any harm,” said the man from Munich, looking ahead to the race in his special discipline on Wednesday. There, Straßer has been considered a medal contender since his victory at the Olympic dress rehearsal in Schladming. In addition, the 29-year-old added that he had the team event next Saturday “in the back of his mind” in the “giant”, “that you have already ridden the giant slalom skis on the snow”. Because this is “very special, no slope is the same and changes from day to day,” he has learned in his three days of training in Yanqing.
cross-country skiing: Can the team of national coach Peter Schlickenrieder create another sensation? The women set the bar high with silver. Janosch Brugger, Friedrich Moch, Florian Notz, and Lucas Bögl should contest the relay over 4 x 10 kilometers. “We start with the young forces, the experienced athletes on the back,” said Schlickenrieder. He expects the 21-year-old Moch, who is in second place, to face the toughest opponents. As of 8 a.m. CET, the German team is not one of the medal candidates. There are four or five teams that are very difficult to get past, said Schlickenrieder in Zhangjiakou.