The German biathlon team failed to win the medal they had hoped for in the third race at the World Championships in Nove Mesto. In the men’s 10 km sprint, Benedikt Doll was the best athlete in the German Ski Association (DSV) in 13th place.
The Norwegian Sturla Holm Lägreid won the title. The 26-year-old triumphed in 25:23.9 minutes after a flawless shooting performance, just 3.5 seconds ahead of Johannes Thingnes Bö (1). Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen (1/+18.6) completed the Norwegian triple victory.
Doll, who has already won two World Cup sprints this winter, made two shooting errors and was 1:41.2 minutes behind Lägreid. Looking at the pursuer on Sunday (5:05 p.m./ARD and Eurosport) over 12.5 km, this is a big challenge, even third place is 1:22.6 minutes away. Johannes Kühn (1/+1:41.9), Philipp Nawrath (1/1:44.3) and Philipp Horn (2/2:11.5) were also unable to put themselves in the spotlight.
The last medal for the German men to date was won by Arnd Peiffer (silver in the individual) in 2021. The last World Cup triumph to date was five years ago, Peiffer won in Östersund in 2019. The men did not win a medal at the last two major events.
At the start of the World Cup in Nove Mesto, the DSV team took fifth place in the mixed relay. In the women’s sprint on Friday, Franziska Preuß was the best German biathlete in sixth place. On Sunday the women’s pursuit race continues over 10 km (2.30 p.m.).