Only fifth place: German biathletes without a relay medal

The German women’s relay stayed without a medal at the Biathlon World Cup in Lenzerheide for the first time since 2019. Sophia Schneider, Selina Grotian, Julia Tannheimer and Franziska Preuß in Switzerland had to be satisfied with fifth place.

In the superior start-finish victory of defending champion France, the quartet made a total of ten relay loaders and a penalty round by Schneider. In the end, the DSV quartet was 1: 58.4 minutes behind the winners after 4 x 6 kilometers. Silver in front of 17,000 spectators in the Roland Arena went to Norway (+ 1: 04.2 minutes), bronze got the Swedes (+ 1: 44.5 minutes).

In 2017 in Hochfilzen, Austria there was the last season gold for women. Since then, the team had only stayed in 2019 in the Swedish Östersund without a medal (4th place). In Nove Mesto a year ago, Janina Hettich-Walz, Grotian, who was short of the birth of her first child, ran the missing Vanessa Voigt and Schneider on the bronze rank.

A penalty round – and that’s it

Germany started the race as a favorite after there were two victories at the World Cups in Hochfilzen and Ruhpolding. However, the team with weaker occupations already took the ranks seven and eight.

In the case of clear plus degrees and an ever softening route, the tailor used in the second-class IBU Cup this season often got a bad start. After a total of four releases and a round of penalty after standing shooting, the 27-year-old’s gap to the leading French women was already 1: 35.1 minutes in the change of 16.

A year ago, Schneider slipped into the team for the sick Prussian as a final runner and had brought it to the bronze rank from sixth place during the last change. “I didn’t get the weapon calmly. I didn’t get the stress off the track while shooting. I’m very sorry,” said Schneider.

Because the 20-year-old Grotian, as Prussian decorated in the mixed relay with bronze, did not get through without errors, Youngster Tannheimer went to her first World Cup season than 13 (+ 1: 52.7 minutes). And the 19-year-old delivered with just one extra or sent to the champion Preuss in the trail. The third -placed Swedes were already 45 seconds away, but Preuss used the mistakes of others and thus came back to the medal. But on the last shooting, Preuss had to reload twice and fell so decisively.