Hanna Kebinger will not be part of the German squad at the Biathlon World Championships in February.
The 26-year-old cannot currently reach her performance limits, said sports director Felix Bitterling from the German Ski Association to the German Press Agency. Kebinger is already missing in Antholz, Italy, where the women’s dress rehearsal begins on Friday with the individual over 12.5 kilometers.
“It’s important that you find out where it originates. Are they extensions of your corona infection or something else,” said Bitterling. Kebinger fell ill with Covid-19 at the beginning of December and missed the World Cups in Hochfilzen and Lenzerheide. In front of her home crowd in Oberhof and Ruhpolding, she competed in four individual races, but ended up outside the top 20 in each case. She came third in the relay last Wednesday.
Bitterling: Kebinger “is an absolute fighter”
“In that case, there’s not much to talk about. That means the World Cup is out for her. But that’s not because we doubt Hanna, but because she doesn’t have the energy to deliver absolute top performances. That’s where she is now World Cup is really secondary,” said Bitterling. The World Cup will take place from February 7th to 18th in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. “She’s not that old that you have to panic at the end of the game. She’s an important athlete for us who can have a good future in this circus for many years to come, and that’s our top priority.”
Kebinger will initially forego competitions and intensive training completely, the association said in a statement. “Of course it’s not easy for her, she’s an absolute fighter,” said Bitterling. “But that fighting spirit is perhaps what sends her in the wrong direction at this moment, because in her head she really wants to. But she got it.”
The Bavarian had already struggled with health problems in the previous season and had to work her way up through the lower-class Germany Cup and the second-class IBU Cup. However, she took advantage of her chance in Antholz and was nominated for the World Championships, even though she only managed half the standard in tenth place in the pursuit. There she won the silver medal in the relay.
