The new Corona worries weighed more heavily on the German biathlon team than the loss of Franziska Preuß and Philipp Nawrath’s yellow jerseys.
“It’s an extreme wave right now. We now hope that we can get through it unscathed,” said Justus Strelow about the infectious diseases that are currently rampant. Preuß, like her teammate Hanna Kebinger, was infected with the coronavirus and both are now missing from the World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. “Just bitter and painful,” wrote Preuss, who left immediately and had to watch from home as the World Cup lead was snatched away from her by Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot.
“You realize that Corona is not over yet and you have to be more careful again,” said Janina Hettich-Walz. In response to many illnesses – eight women from different nations alone were unable to compete in the sprint due to health reasons – the German hygiene concept was tightened. “We have sensitized ourselves again and pushed the topic of masks,” said Benedikt Doll. To be on the safe side, groups were formed again in the team hotel; it is best not to have close contact with anyone outside of your bubble, said Doll. Mouth and nose protection is also increasingly worn in closed rooms. “I hope that it goes away quickly for the girls and that we are spared from it for the rest of the season,” said Strelow from Saxony.
While Preuß lost the top position without a fight, Nawrath was also unable to successfully defend the coveted bib on the track and fell back to third place. The 30-year-old only finished 34th in the sprint, making him the weakest in the six-person German team. “It’s a shame to have to give up the jersey. But you still have the chance to attack and show good races again,” said Nawrath. Three shooting errors were simply too many in Norwegian Tarjei Bö’s victory; Nawrath goes into the pursuit on Saturday (12.15 p.m./ARD and Eurosport) 1:54 minutes behind. The Swede Sebastian Samuelsson took yellow.
Doll ends up in seventh place
As the best German, veteran Benedikt Doll came in seventh place. “I did quite well, but the competition never sleeps,” said Doll, who won the world title on this course in 2017. Johannes Kühn also came ninth with a shooting mistake, Strelow finished 15th. After his surprising sprint victory last week in Östersund, Sweden, Nawrath reacted with disappointment. “But the fight remains open,” he said: “The season is still long.”
Preuss’ renewed failure was particularly bitter. After having to end the previous season early due to various health problems, she had a surprisingly strong start to the new winter. Two second places and a fourth place in Östersund recently took her to the top of the overall standings for the first time in her career. The Bavarian was the first German since Laura Dahlmeier in 2017 to slip into the coveted bib.
Preuß: “Wear the yellow jersey for as long as possible”
“She is currently not fit enough to compete at the World Cup in Hochfilzen. In order not to endanger the rest of the season, she will unfortunately no longer be able to compete in Hochfilzen,” said team doctor Sebastian Torka. It is therefore clear that she will fall far behind in the rankings. Preuß wanted to be involved in the fight for overall victory until the end of the season. “I want to wear the yellow jersey for as long as possible,” Preuß told the dpa shortly before leaving Sweden on Sunday.
Now she has to fight her way back. Illnesses and injuries repeatedly prevented her from permanently establishing herself at the top during her career. Now the former world champion will not return to Lenzerheide in Switzerland until next week at the earliest.
In the absence of Preuß, the biathletes missed another top result. Vanessa Voigt, the best DSV athlete, ended up in 14th place with one shooting error and will go into the pursuit on Saturday 1:12 minutes behind. The flawless Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold rounded off the Norwegian day of celebration with her sprint triumph.
