Gusts of wind create a spectacle
Bitter penalty loop chaos for biathletes
02/05/2022, 11:40 am
In the end they have to be satisfied with fifth place: The start of the biathlon competitions at the Olympic Games turned out to be a disaster for the Germans very early on. The mixed relay was knocked out after penalties, but even for the Olympic champions, things didn’t go perfectly until the last lap.
A shooting debacle robbed the German biathlon team of all chances of a medal early on at the start of the Winter Olympics. The mixed relay only came fifth in the freezing cold and windy Zhangjiakou over 4 x 6 kilometers. In a turbulent race in extreme conditions, Norway secured the Olympic victory ahead of France and the team from Russia. Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bö won a gripping final sprint, Sweden was fourth.
The quartet of the German Ski Association with the unfortunate Olympic debutante Vanessa Voigt, Denise Herrmann, Benedikt Doll and Philipp Nawrath never came close to the podium with a total of 18 spare rounds and two penalties. So there was no Olympic medal for a mixed German relay in the third attempt either. Four years ago, it just didn’t make it to bronze.
At temperatures of minus twelve degrees in the late afternoon, start runner Voigt felt the difficult circumstances immediately, even had to go to the penalty loop after prone despite three spare rounds and fell back to 17th place. “That’s not how I imagined my debut,” she said on ARD. “You can’t call it luck, it wasn’t the kind of shooting I was used to.”
For the most part, the competition initially did better and got through without an additional round. Voigt also had problems in standing, again the Thuringian had to complete an extra round after four missed shots and only handed over to Denise Herrmann in 15th place. The gap to the leading Norwegians was already 2:18 minutes.
“Also felt the altitude”
Since the women’s round was shorter and there was not so much to catch up on the six-kilometre track, shooting was even more important. Denise Herrmann was able to avoid a penalty and close the gap, while some favorites also struggled up front. “I set off very forcefully and noticed it from the back. In the final lap I also felt the height,” said Herrmann.
Franziska Preuss, who would have been the starting runner under normal circumstances, could not be there. The 27-year-old is not really fit again after a week-long training break as a result of a corona infection and a foot injury. The overall World Cup third place from the previous season could be used in the individual races next week.
Herrmann brought the German selection up to tenth place before the switch to Doll, France took the lead four years after gold in Pyeongchang when it got dark. Since the top teams shot well up front, but Doll, who was victorious in the World Cup recently, needed two spares while lying down, the race was finally over for the DSV team. Philipp Nawrath, who is already tried and tested as a last runner, started his first Olympic appearance from tenth place and still made up five places.