Strong result for the German biathletes: In the Hochfilzen sprint, Vanessa Voigt took seventh place after a flawless shooting performance and finally secured her Olympic ticket with her best performance of the season. Anna Weidel also shot zero and came eighth. The 29-year-old also met the Olympic standard.
In the 7.5 km race, victory went to Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot (0) ahead of Maren Kirkeeide from Norway (1/+15.3) and Anna Magnusson from Sweden (0/+16.1).
Voigt (0/+37.7) and Weidel (0/+42.0) also secured a good starting position for their pursuers over 10 km on Sunday (2:45 p.m./ARD and Eurosport).
“Standing here with such a result makes me very happy. I knew it would be a good day,” beamed Voigt at the “ARD” microphone.
Marlene Fichtner also made no mistakes, but was too weak in terms of running. She missed the top 40, as did Janina Hettich-Walz and Julia Tannheimer after four shooting errors each and Julia Kink (2).
Overall World Cup winner Franziska Preuß and Selina Grotian did not get fit in time after illnesses, but both are scheduled to return to the team for the World Cup in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand.
Julia Simon under observation during comeback after suspension
The focus on Friday was also the return of Frenchwoman Julia Simon after her headline-grabbing conviction for theft and credit card fraud.
The 29-year-old ended up in 19th place with one shooting error, 1:09.7 minutes behind Jeanmonnot. The ten-time world champion was missing from the World Cup opener in Östersund due to an additional ban by the association. “I feel good, I’m happy. Of course it wasn’t easy for me, but biathlon is what I love most,” said Simon on “ARD”.
On Saturday the men’s pursuit over 12.5 km (12:00 p.m.) and the women’s relay (2:15 p.m.) are on the program. The World Cup in Hochfilzen will then conclude on Sunday with the men’s relay (12:00 p.m.) and the women’s pursuit (2:45 p.m.).