The biathletes start the Olympic season in Östersund this weekend. After winning the overall World Cup last winter, Franziska Preuß’ focus is primarily on Olympic medals.
The biathletes start the Olympic season this weekend. A good eight months after the dramatic end of the season in Oslo, the clocks are set to zero again. Franziska Preuß fulfilled her biggest sporting dream by winning the overall World Cup in the last race of last winter. Nevertheless, she is starting the new season fully motivated, because in February the Olympic medal will be at stake in Antholz: “The Olympics were the motivation to keep going.“
But Preuss doesn’t feel any pressure: “I’m happy with what I’ve already achieved. Everything that comes this year is definitely an encore for me.“
Preuß is again the top favorite in the World Cup
Felix Bitterling, the sports director of the German Ski Association (DSV), expects that, despite the new composure, Preuß will again be one of the absolute top athletes next winter: “I trust her with everything. As long as there isn’t another stupid accident or something similar, things are looking good. Franzi is one of a handful of international athletes who need to be beaten.”
But he immediately adds that Preuß’ focus is clearly on the Olympics, because she can already call herself the overall World Cup winner. But the 31-year-old is by no means the only hope in the German team.
Strong women’s team
Selina Grotian, ninth in the overall 2024/25 World Cup, can also be at the forefront of the World Cup. “As long as she stays healthy and keeps doing what she does, she will definitely be one of the women who will be at the forefront of the world in the future“, explains Bitterling.
Top talent Julia Tannheimer is always good for a surprise, but the main thing for the 20-year-old is to gain as much World Cup experience as possible.
Vanessa Voigt is already bringing them with her. Sporting director Bitterling believes she still needs a bit of time to get back to top form, but “Especially with a view to the Olympics, she will definitely be a force to be reckoned with. And if she remains physically stable, we will see one or two top results this winter.“
Furious baby comeback?
Janina Hettich-Walz, who has already made an impressive return from maternity leave, is probably the biggest surprise in the women’s team. At the German Championships she secured the titles in the shortened individual and sprint. She also impressed at the international races in Idre Fjäll, Sweden and was nominated for the World Cup again.
“What Janina has done since her return is actually not enough to take off her hat. It’s fantastic, there’s no other word for it. She’s a mother for whom it’s obviously difficult to leave her little one at home for a few weeks. It’s very impressive how she organizes it.”Bitterling raves about Hettich-Walz and adds: “I have the feeling that Janina has taken another giant step forward. She will be difficult to reckon with.”
Big question marks for the biathletes
The men had a lot to work on after last season. Apart from the World Cup bronze in the relay, there wasn’t much to celebrate for the DSV athletes. The best German in the World Cup ranking was Philipp Nawrath in 14th place.”In most cases, the overall performance of the men’s team did not live up to our expectations or those of the athletes themselves“, Bitterling looks back.
With Justus Strelow, Philipp Nawrath, Lucas Fratzscher, Simon Kaiser, Philipp Horn and Danilo Riethmüller, the DSV starts the Olympic winter and is hoping above all for mistakes from the competition for top placements: “We know that the density of absolute top athletes is higher in Norway and France and that we will have a difficult time there as a whole. But we want to offer good performances and take advantage of our chances when the top favorites don’t have such a good day. And if you use this, you can have a really good season.“
Back to the top with a mental trainer?
The German team had problems last season, especially at the shooting range. The association has reacted to this: national coach Tobias Reiter is going into the World Cup winter for the first time with the support of a mental trainer. “This has been well received“, explained Bitterling. Shooting was a “very, very mental topic“, Bitterling continues: “The boys haven’t forgotten how to shoot.“
They can prove this from Saturday (live on ARD from 4:55 p.m.) at the World Cup opener in Östersund. The objective for sports director Bitterling: “What’s important for us now is that we get off to a good start. If we could choose, we would get off to a solid start and then keep getting better.“The German biathletes will ideally be in top shape at the Olympic Games in Antholz in February.