Biathlon mass start: Biathlete Riethmüller celebrates the first podium of his career

Danilo Riethmüller delivered a fantastic performance in the last biathlon race of the year and was rewarded with the first World Cup podium of his career. The 25-year-old only missed once in the mass start at Le Grand-Bornand and only had to admit defeat to the 36-year-old Norwegian Tarjei Bö in second place.

Riethmüller, who had already impressed in the pursuit on Saturday by jumping from 29th place to 7th place, ended up in second place, just four seconds behind the old champion, who also had a penalty lap. His brother Johannes Thingnes Bö (3 errors/+ 9.7 seconds) completed the podium in third place.

“I was shaking a bit because I knew that Johannes was behind me,” said Riethmüller on ARD. “I managed to stay with myself while shooting. I would also like to thank Uros (Velepec) for always giving me the chance and accompanying me through the valley after my mistakes,” said Riethmüller, who won the red takes home the jersey as the leader in the mass start classification.

Red jersey as a reward

Riethmüller showed his potential in adverse conditions with constant rain. On the final lap he even fended off the extremely strong runner Johannes Thingnes Bö before rolling over the finish line with a broad smile and beaming with the two Norwegians for the first winner’s photo.

The good team result was rounded off by Philipp Nawrath in seventh place and Johannes Kühn, who slipped into the mass start, in eighth place. National coach Uros Velepec’s protégés ended the first third of the season with two podium places after Nawrath had finished third in the sprint at the start of the season.