Selina Grotian has once again underlined her position as an exceptional biathlon talent. In Soldier Hollow she was the best German in difficult conditions. But it wasn’t enough for the top 10.
Selina Grotian and Soldier Hollow – that just fits together: The 19-year-old biathlete from Bavaria took 13th place in the World Cup sprint in the US state of Utah on Friday afternoon (local time), making her the best German.
At the 2002 Olympic facility, Grotian only made one mistake on the shooting range, meaning she reached the finish line significantly faster than her colleagues from the German Ski Association (DSV) team.
The Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet won, also with one shooting error, ahead of Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (0 errors) from Norway and Lou Jeanmonnot (0 errors), who also comes from France.
Hettich-Walz turns 20.
Top talent Grotian, who won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the Youth World Championships in Soldier Hollow two years ago, was extremely satisfied after the race: “It couldn’t have been better in the race,” she said on the ARD microphone .
Behind Grotian, individual silver medalist Janina Hettich-Walz (2 errors/+1:57.2 minutes) finished 20th. “I felt clumsy on the course,” said the 27-year-old.
Vanessa Voigt (1/+2:34.8 minutes) also struggled after finishing 36th. “It’s not that I’m physically exhausted, but mentally,” said the Thuringian: “The season is sapping my strength.” Debutant Julia Kink (2/+2:44.6), who won gold in the mass start and the women’s relay at the Junior World Championships in Estonia last week, came 42nd in her first World Cup race. Sophia Schneider (3 /+3:01.2) reached 48th place, Johanna Puff (3/+3:42.0 minutes) came 65th.
This means that the German women go into the persecution on Sunday (5 p.m.) with a large mortgage. Before that, the biathletes’ relay (8.25 p.m.) and the men’s sprint race (11 p.m. in the t-online live ticker) await on Saturday in the US state of Utah. The season finale will take place in Canmore, Canada, from March 14th to 17th.