Image: APA/dpa/Hendrik Schmidt
It was the calm before the last storm in Oberhof. On the race-free Friday at the Biathlon World Championships, it was time to recharge your batteries for the concentrated finale at the weekend, when the Saturday relays (men, 11.45 a.m.; women, 3 p.m./ live ORF 1) and the Sunday mass start competitions title fights to be completed. Unlike in previous years, Austria’s hopes are primarily on the women.
The red-white-red biathletes have never been better staggered than this year. Without team leader Lisa Hauser, the quartet of Dunja Zdouc, Anna Gandler, Anna Juppe and Julia Schwaiger finished fifth in the shadow of winner France at the last World Cup before the World Championships in Antholz – the strongest result in history.
Women’s head coach Markus Fischer keeps the ball flat for today. “The top eight would be a success, we’re not talking about a medal”, says the German. Other nations such as France, Sweden, Germany, Norway and Italy are too strong. But: “Everything is possible in Oberhof, we saw that. The wind is unpredictable and plays a major role.” As few spares as possible are the goal for the quartet with Hauser, the powerful Gandler, ex-cross-country skier Juppe and Zdouc.
In the concluding mass start on Sunday, however, Fischer has defending champion Hauser fully accounted for in the fight for precious metal. “You can trust Lisa to do anything every day.” With the silver medal in his luggage, which Hauser won together with David Komatz in the single mixed on Thursday, the pressure is now off. “That was quite a liberation.”
After the departure of veteran Simon Eder due to illness, Komatz formed the ÖSV quartet with Dominic Unterweger, Patrick Jakob and Harald Lemmerer.
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