First individual race of the season: Four errors on average: “Used day” for DSV biathletes

Justus Strelow took refuge in gallows humor after the severe setback in the first individual race of the new biathlon season. “I always wanted to shoot a small street,” said the best German shooter last season about his 81st place on ARD. At the very first attempt he made three mistakes while lying down in Kontiolahti, Finland, followed by two more, then only one mistake and a flawless standing shooting at the end.

“I had a complete lack of orientation today while shooting prone. The race was basically over straight away. Then there were more mistakes, it was a wasted day,” said the 27-year-old, who had a hit rate of 94 percent last winter .

From a German perspective, he was not alone with his difficulties at the shooting range. On average, the six athletes from the German Ski Association (DSV) missed four times. Since a mistake was punished with 45 seconds added to the total time, Strelow and Co. had no chance of a good placement in the Norwegian triple success.

Norwegians are continuing seamlessly from the previous season

Meanwhile, the dominance of the Scandinavians continues. The Norwegians had already taken the top five places in the overall World Cup in the previous season. In Finland, Endre Strömsheim won ahead of his compatriots Johannes Thingnes Bö (1) and Sturla Holm Laegreid (0).

Philipp Nawrath took 22nd place as the best German. Only he and Danilo Riethmüller (3 mistakes) in 30th place made it into the top 30. Nawrath was 2:49.2 minutes behind Strömsheim after 15 kilometers and also three mistakes. Philipp Horn (3/32nd), Johannes Kühn (5/54th) as well as David Zobel (4/60th) and the otherwise safe shooter Strelow landed even further back.

Best German: Little consolation for Nawrath

The fact that Nawrath was the best DSV athlete did not comfort Bayern. “Being the best German is not the highlight,” he said. “I think we wanted to get into the top positions. We all have more potential.”

Especially since the preseason started with a double victory thanks to Roman Rees, who was missing from Kontiolahti’s preparation due to an illness, and Strelow. “The demands are higher – of course. Especially with our start last year,” said Nawrath.

The performance on the cross-country ski trail should provide some optimism before the 10-kilometer sprint race on Friday. “You just have to risk a little more if you fall behind in shooting. So it was a really good feeling while running,” said Nawrath. This should also apply to his teammates, as four Germans made it into the top 22 in this ranking.