After a rather disappointing last winter for the DSV relay, the podium place of the German quartet in Kontiolahti, Finland, makes you want more.
“A great team effort”, ARD expert Erik Lesser praised the DSV season after their second place in Kontiolahti. Only Olympic champion Norway was stronger.
The line-up was a bit unusual with Justus Strelow, Johannes Kühn, Benedikt Doll and Roman Rees – but after the respectable success it became clear that national coach Mark Kirchner showed the right hand in the line-up.
Successful season debut for Strelow
Strelow convinced in his first season as a starting runner. “Before the start I was very excited. The final lap was tough. But I was able to save it quite well.”said the 25-year-old in an interview with the sports show.
Kühn fought a gripping duel on the last lap with the Norwegian Sturla Holm Laegreid. Doll was able to keep up with Tarje Bö. For anchor Rees, superstar Johannes Thingnes Bö was to be considered – but he was able to keep the overall World Cup winner Quentin Fillon Maillet at bay and defended second place.
Only “sheet metal” at the 2022 Olympics
So all four have fulfilled their tasks and raise hopes that the DSV season will find its way back on the road to success. The last victory was in March 2021. Last winter there was only one podium – the relay took second place at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding.
In the last major competitions, the German men’s quartet went away empty-handed. Biathlon fans still remember the pictures from the last World Championships in 2021 in Pokljuka: Start runner Lesser collapsed on the slope and destroyed all hopes of a medal early on. At the Olympic Games in Beijing, the relay lost the medal in the last shooting – and had to put up with the unwelcome fourth place.
DSV quartet still “not perfect”
It is still too early to make a prediction about the young season or the chances of a medal at the home World Championships in Oberhof. The new men’s assistant coach Uros Velepec also said: “We tried a new line-up, it wasn’t perfect. But the guys did a good job.”
Yes, it wasn’t perfect – but the German men could not only convince in the relay in Kontiolahti. A podium place already jumped out in the singles. David Zobel made it to third place over 20 km. Rees finished fourth. The start of the season has been perfect for DSV so far – unlike last season in Östersund. Philipp Nawrath was the most successful with his sixth place in the sprint. But this introduction to winter in Kontiolahti makes you want more!