Vanessa Voigt clenched her hand into a fist and then leaned over the barrier to cheer on final runner Julia Kink, who was on course for a podium, in the last few meters.
There was no trace of the uncertainty of the previous day, when the biathlete had almost ruled out participating in the relay after the sprint.
Voigt explained immediately after the race in Soldier Hollow that she was currently not in a position to help the team. Women’s coach Kristian Mehringer decided differently and relied on the 26-year-old on Saturday. He was right with this decision, because the DSV quartet ended up in second place in the USA and thus higher than ever before this winter. Previously, she achieved two third places in the World Cup in Östersund and Ruhpolding as well as a bronze medal at the World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
Hettich-Walz trembles during the second shooting session
“I took a few minutes for myself and then realized that I’m always selected for a reason. I didn’t win it in the lottery, I worked hard for it and I think I managed to flip the switch,” said Voigt on ARD after an impeccable performance at the shooting range.
Janina Hettich Walz (3 spares), Selina Grotian (3) and Julia Kink (1), who replaced the “somewhat ailing” Sophia Schneider at short notice in her first relay appearance in a World Cup race, delivered solid performances and beat Sweden and Austria ranks three and four. Norway secured victory with a lead of 17.2 seconds.
Hettich-Walz started straight away with a flawless performance in the prone position, but then had to reload three times in the second shooting session. “My legs were shaking and I almost saw myself in the penalty loop. I’m glad I was able to avert them,” said the World Cup individual runner-up.
Voigt cannot maintain the lead
After Hettich-Walz, Grotian took over, who was the best German in the sprint the day before in 13th place. She led Germany to second place before Voigt started and even took the lead after the first shooting. “She said she was doing it for the team, which I think was incredibly strong,” Grotian said of Voigt.
Voigt was unable to maintain the lead. But she and Kink secured second place. The double junior world champion was left behind as the last runner in a direct duel with the overall World Cup leader Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold. “I think we did a pretty good job of putting everything aside. Of course the conditions were much better and it was a lot more fun,” said Voigt, who was able to smile and cheer again with her teammates.
