Home World Cup in Oberhof
From 14 to 3: German biathlon relay team manages to catch up
Updated on January 10, 2026 – 3:54 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
In Oberhof, the German women’s biathlon relay team wanted to experience a sense of achievement. But at the moment it didn’t look like that at all.
The German biathlon relay team took third place in Oberhof on Saturday. The quartet of Selina Grotian, Julian Tannheimer, Janina Hettich-Walz and Franziska Preuß only had to admit defeat to France and Norway (+1:28.4 minutes). In the meantime it didn’t look like a podium place at all. Starting runner Selina Grotian, who made no mistakes while lying down, had to go into the penalty loop after the standing stage and was in 14th place.
“I thought to myself when I was standing down: ‘Oh, this could be difficult,'” Grotian said on ARD: “I did my best, but unfortunately with the penalty loop.”
But as a result, the German race to catch up began. As a result, Tannheimer also needed numerous spares – and yet she brought the DSV team up to fifth place. “The wind wasn’t really a problem, it was more the cold,” said the 20-year-old. Little by little, the DSV women fought their way forward before final runner Franziska Preuß perfected her place on the podium.
The winners from France around the overall World Cup leader Lou Jeanmonnot were unstoppable on Saturday. In the end, there were only eight mistakes and not a single penalty when Julia Simon reached the finish. Norway had one penalty but only seven errors. Germany made six more mistakes, which in the end “only” meant third place.
Finland came in fourth and Sweden came in fifth. The start was particularly bitter for the Swedes. A defect in the rifle cost Julia Magnusson a lot of time.