Image: CHRISTOF STACHE (APA/AFP/CHRISTOF STACHE)
David Komatz, Dominic Unterweger, Patrick Jakob and Harald Lemmerer did not get past 14th place in extremely difficult conditions due to strong gusts of wind. France took the gold medal ahead of Norway (+38.8 seconds) and Sweden (+1:39.9 minutes). In the end, the ÖSV team was 6:00.4 minutes behind.
Without the sick Simon Eder and Felix Leitner there was nothing for the ÖSV troop. Only starter Komatz, with the confidence of the mixed silver medal behind him, was able to keep up halfway, handing over after two spare rounds in prone, 37.3 seconds back in first place in sixth. “When shooting prone, I misjudged the wind, that’s why the mistakes happened, that really annoys me,” said Komatz in an ORF interview. The legs would have felt “very tired”.
Unterweger then had three penalties and finished 14th (+2:41.3 minutes). “I worked too badly on the shooting range, I know that I’m in better shape. That annoys me and I’m extremely sorry for the team,” said the ÖSV player self-critically. Jakob’s shooting performance was quite good, but he spent far too much time on the cross-country ski run. “That’s just not enough running, there has to be more,” says Jakob. Lemmerer started the race in 16th place with a minus of 4:36.7 minutes and was still able to make up two places.
It was only on Saturday morning that the World Federation (IBU) and the Organizing Committee decided, after intensive consultation with the German Weather Service and the Thuringia Forest, to hold the competitions after all. The women’s competition was scheduled for 3 p.m. (live ORF eins), and the Austrians Lisa Hauser, Anna Gandler, Anna Juppe and Dunja Zdouc are not among the medal contenders there either.
Because of an official warning, the races were on the brink. The background was the weather forecast with gusts of wind of up to 85 kilometers per hour, which could lead to dangers on the competition course. There had already been an official weather warning on Friday.
Source: Nachrichten
