The German biathletes had a wasted day in the mass start in Oslo without Franziska Preuß and clearly missed the top 10. Lena Häcki-Groß, on the other hand, once again surprised the world elite.
The Swiss won on Saturday (March 2nd, 2024) in pouring rain after two missed shots ahead of the Frenchwoman Julia Simon (4 errors / +16.8 seconds) and her compatriot Lou Jeanmonnot (3 / +22.3). For Häcki-Groß it was only the second World Cup victory of her career. She had already won the individual in Antholz in January and surprised the competition.
Häcki-Groß had fallen in the individual competition the day before and had started the race in poor condition. “After yesterday I just thought: ‘Today is a new day’. My whole team built me up. I’m grateful for everyone who supported me,” said the winner afterwards on ZDF.
German biathletes run behind
In the absence of Franziska Preuß, who was ill, the German biathletes were unable to make any impact at the traditional Holmenkollen. Sophia Schneider was the best DSV starter in 18th place (3 errors), but was already almost 90 seconds behind Häcki-Groß at the finish. “It wasn’t that easy with the conditions, even at the shooting range,” said the 26-year-old: “But everyone has to cope with these conditions.”
Individual vice world champion Janina Hettich-Walz also had little success. After four shooting errors, she came 20th (+1:49.5 minutes). Johanna Puff finished her fourth World Cup race three places behind her (3 errors / 2:21.2). For her, taking part in the mass start was already a success. Vanessa Voigt, on the other hand, had a pitch-black day. After a total of five missed shots, the Thuringian crossed the finish line in distant 25th place (+2:54.1) and shed tears of disappointment.
Voigt starts strong and fades away strongly
Voigt got off to a promising start. While the top athletes around the previous day’s winner Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold all missed shots in the first prone stage, Voigt remained at the front thanks to a faultless performance. Schneider also hit all five targets, but had already lost a few seconds on the cross-country ski trail. Puff (1 mistake) and Hettich-Walz, who missed twice, also had to move further back in the field.
By the second shooting, Voigt had lost a few places before things got tough at the shooting range: after the first two targets fell, the 26-year-old then shot three tickets, which took her out of the race early on. Schneider kept her gap to the Swiss Amy Baserga, who was somewhat surprisingly leading at the time, fairly limited, whereas Puff and Hettich-Walz moved forward a little thanks to error-free performances.
Häcki-Groß outdoes Simon
Afterwards, the Italian Lisa Vittozzi and Simon showed off their strengths on the course and were in the top group until the first standing stage. But once again no athlete was able to gain a decisive advantage as many mistakes were made again. The German quartet also had to accept the next penalty laps and lost further ground to the top 10. Voigt in particular had to struggle a lot in 28th place.
In the final standing position, Simon fired the first shot, but only Häcki-Groß, who took the lead, made a mistake. Behind her, the other favorites also all scored penalties and had to catch up with the Swiss at the top by at least 19 seconds. In the fight for the day’s victory, Häcki-Groß finally defended her lead over Simon and brought her second World Cup victory to the finish line.
2024-03-03 10:28:23
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