After two positive corona cases in the team, the German biathletes are alarmed. “Of course there is always a bit of fear, you notice that there are very, very many failures,” said Vanessa Voigt.
The 26-year-old from Thuringia continues to try to protect herself “as best as possible,” she said at the World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. Her teammates Franziska Preuß and Hanna Kebinger are out of the races in the Alps after corona infections. Preuß even lost the top position in the overall World Cup without a fight on Friday. The Bavarian left early and will not be able to start again in Switzerland until next week at the earliest.
“I think we have now put together a very, very good hygiene concept in our team,” said Voigt. Accordingly, groups were formed in the hotel that are no longer allowed to mix. This means that men and women as well as the supervisors stay among themselves, eat in these bubbles and travel to the competition venue is organized in individual vehicles. Anyone who shows symptoms of illness will also be isolated and, in particular, must eat their meals alone.
It’s now a matter of “just pulling together and being considerate of others,” said Voigt, sixth overall in the World Cup. Eight athletes were unable to compete in the women’s sprint on Friday due to illness. In addition to corona infections, the failures were also normal colds. There is no longer an obligation to isolate yourself with Corona or to report a positive test result in the Biathlon World Cup. Even racing starts are possible. The world association IBU recently appealed to athletes to act responsibly.
