The German biathlon men confirmed their Olympic ambitions at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding. Ex-ski hunter Denise Herrmann-Wick is confident about the games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The German biathlon relay team is to be expected at the Olympic Winter Games that are about to begin in Italy, says “ZDF” expert Denise Herrmann-Wick after the men’s third place at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding on Thursday.
“Definitely, also considering the gap to the top nations and first place,” assessed the biathlon icon. They are “fully in touch” with the competition from France (1st place), Norway (2nd) and Sweden (4th). The “exciting race” promises “a hot box for the Olympics”.
On February 17th, the best ski hunters will start their hunt for Olympic precious metal in Antholz. The fact that the German quartet has shown such a strong performance at the dress rehearsal “means a lot,” said the 2022 individual Olympic champion – although there is still “a lot of time” until the starting signal. “Of course you’re happy to take something like that with you. You gain self-confidence in races like this. A lot of people can shoot in training. Getting that across in competition and in front of a crowd like that is the art. That’s what makes it happen in the end.”
Biathlon quartet takes “a lot of self-confidence” with them
The DSV quartet around Justus Strelow, Danilo Riethmüller, David Zobel and Philipp Nawrath even had a chance of first place in the Chiemgau Arena until the last shooting. In the end, the winners from France were only 7.9 seconds behind. “We can definitely take a lot of self-confidence with us,” exulted Zobel with a view to the Olympics.
Starting runner Strelow had performed a flawless quick-fire performance after a spare reload while lying down in a standing position, and handed over in fourth place, close to the leaders, in plus-degree conditions on soft terrain. “Justus has the ability to shoot quickly,” said Herrmann-Wick afterwards: “At 19.5 seconds there is a lot of smoke on the target.”
After an extra shot while lying down, Riethmüller, who returned from the IBU Cup, showed a furious performance both standing and on the cross-country ski trail, and even brought Germany right to the front at half-time. Zobel also kept the team on course for the podium despite a prone recoil. Nawrath was then part of a thrilling four-way battle for victory – and he saved third place after a total of two spare rounds.
Nawrath’s Olympic motto: “Accept the fight”
Herrmann-Wick also praised the veteran Nawrath’s finish sprint with the Norwegian Vetle Sjaestad Christiansen: “He stuck with it really well, Christiansen is not the ideal opponent when it comes to the finish line. He fought until the end.” Ultimately, Christiansen is “one of the best sprinters” ever: “Philipp gave it his all and rewarded himself with third place.”
For the men, there are still two individual races left in the home World Cup: the sprint on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) and the pursuit on Sunday (3:00 p.m.), which will be crucial for the Olympic nomination on Tuesday. Because with Nawrath, Strelow and Philipp Horn, who was missing due to illness, only three athletes have cracked the standard, David Zobel at least half. In Ruhpolding, Lucas Fratzscher, Riethmüller and Johannes Kühn can also recommend themselves for one of the five starting places. “It works in the back of your mind,” Riethmüller said.
Philipp Nawrath is already looking towards Antholz. “The motto is: accept the fight and don’t back down. That’s no use, we have to try to do our thing,” said the 32-year-old confidently.