Hauser’s trouble at the Biathlon World Cup

OBERHOF. Lisa Hauser finished 13th in yesterday’s sprint at the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany. With a flawless performance at the shooting range, the Tyrolean had actually created the basis that is needed for a top place over the 7.5-kilometer route. The 29-year-old was correspondingly shocked after not even making it into the top ten. “I’m really annoyed, I think a lot would have been possible with 0/0 (shooting error, note)”, said Hauser, who hadn’t failed to notice that some of the wide-ranging group of favorites had blundered.

Gold went to the German Denise Herrmann-Wick, who prevailed over the Swedes Hanna Öberg (+2.2 seconds) and Linn Persson (+26.2), who were also flawless on the shooting range. Hauser, who was 1:08.7 minutes behind the winner, ultimately lost too much time on the track, which is why the former world champion could not be satisfied. For the pursuit on Sunday (from 1.20 p.m. in ORF1) she has to tick that off.

Zdouc and Gandler qualified

Two more Austrians qualified for this pursuit with Dunja Zdouc and Anna Gandler thanks to places 45 and 49 respectively. Both struggled with the shooting performance, Zdouc afforded two, Gandler three mistakes. Anna Juppe (72nd) and Tamara Steiner (80th) miss the pursuit of the top 60.

On Saturday (2.30 p.m. on ORF1) Simon Eder, David Komatz, Harald Lemmerer and Dominic Unterweger start the sprint. Veteran Eder drew a lot of strength from fourth place in the mixed relay. “It was a huge thing for self-confidence. The men will also be chasing on Sunday.