In the first race without Franziska Preuß, 22-year-old Marlene Fichtner impressed with an impeccable performance. There are two Swedes at the top.
A new era began for the German biathletes this Thursday: the previously 13th overall World Cup. and therefore the best German, was no longer there in the individual over 15 kilometers in Kontiolahti. Franziska Preuß, who has been in the World Cup since November 2013, ended her career after the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Marlene Fichtner surprises in the far north
So in race one without Franziska Preuß from Upper Bavaria, who won the overall World Cup in the previous season, others inevitably had the chance for more time in the spotlight.
And Marlene Fichtner took advantage of this opportunity brilliantly: The 22-year-old from SC Traunstein was the only German athlete to make no mistakes in the four shooting stages and sensationally achieved fifth place.
Fichtner polishes up German shooting record in Kontiolahti
She threw her right fist through the air after crossing the red target line. She then showed a heart to the camera and laughed. Fichtner could be completely satisfied; in only her second World Cup season, this is her strongest result so far. “I can’t believe it right now”she said on ZDF. “I’m really happy that I have another chance to show myself here and do good races again. I’m very motivated.”
She represented a bit of the opposite to the rest of the German team in Finland. Because too many shooting errors prevented further top placements, Janina Hettich-Walz was still able to reach ninth place with two penalty minutes.
Sweden at the top: Öberg sisters celebrate a double victory
Instead, two sisters dominated in the far north: The Swede Elvira Öberg was one of the few athletes who remained flawless and won ahead of her sister Hanna (1 mistake, + 41.3 seconds) and the Slovakian Paulina Batovska Fialkova (1/+45.0). Lou Jeanmonnot from France secured the small crystal ball in the individual despite finishing 35th.
Hettich-Walz was also on course for a podium finish for a long time, but she only missed twice in the final standing stage. “It haunts me all year long”she said. “I’m happy with a top ten placement, but of course I can’t be happy after how the race went.” At the end she saw her mistakes as “head matter”.
Grotian, Voigt and Tannheimer collect minutes and World Cup points
However, the shooting was even more difficult for the other Germans than Hettich-Walz: Selina Grotian came 20th with three errors, Vanessa Voigt also came 25th with a penalty of three minutes, Julia Tannheimer 28th with four errors.
The good news: All five Germans collected World Cup points – especially the outstanding Marlene Fichtner.
