Three Germans in the top 5
Biathlete Hettich-Walz sensationally wins World Championship silver
February 13, 2024, 6:13 p.m
The Biathlon World Cup has been a big disappointment for the German team so far, but then Janina Hettich-Walz comes along and takes silver in the 15 kilometers. By jumping onto the podium, she averted a historic zero number for the German team at the start of the second World Cup phase.
Biathlete Janina Hettich-Walz won the longed-for first medal for the German Ski Association (DSV) at the World Championships in Nove Mesto. The 27-year-old sensationally took second place in the individual over 15 kilometers without making any mistakes at the shooting range and secured silver. For Hettich-Walz it is the greatest success of her career.
For a short time, Hettich-Walz even seemed within reach of the title with her flawless performance, but she ran out of strength on the final lap. The last German individual world champion to date was Laura Dahlmeier in 2017. Two years ago in Beijing, Denise Herrmann-Wick won Olympic gold in the oldest biathlon race.
With her jump onto the podium, she averted a historic zero for the German team at the start of the second half of the World Cup. First place went to the outstanding Italian Lisa Vittozzi (0 shooting errors), third place went to the French dominator Julia Simon (1 shooting error).
World Cup debutante Selina Grotian and Vanessa Voigt also made no mistakes and rounded off the German team’s very good result. Grotian came fourth, Voigt followed right behind in fifth. Franziska Preuß was unable to match the level of the rest of the team with two errors.
After the dry spell ends, the men can improve on Wednesday in their individual 20 km race (5:20 p.m./ZDF). Benedikt Doll, Philipp Horn, Johannes Kühn and Roman Rees start there for the DSV team.