Selina Grotian and Justus Strelow competed for Germany in the single mixed relay on Sunday. The duo was convincing – Strelow in particular presented a strong performance.
In the pursuit on Saturday, no German biathlete and no German biathlete landed on the podium. On Sunday in the single mixed relay, Germany presented itself strongly, represented by Selina Grotian and Justus Strelow – in the end the duo secured third place (+24.90). The victory went to Finland (39:17.10) and second place to France (+5.80).
After the race, Strelow, who only made one shooting error, said: “Today standing was a lot of fun. It finally worked out the way I imagined it would. It was a great day in front of the backdrop.” Grotian added: “I’m very satisfied. I could only have dreamed of a podium. Justus did a mega job. It was unbelievable to watch him fire things out, I can take a lesson from that.”
Justus Strelow initially held back on the route. However, at the shooting range he was lightning fast at the first prone position and returned to the track without any mistakes and in first place. He also showed himself to be a strong runner and also performed flawlessly in the standing position. Germany continued to lead, followed by Slovenia and France.
Strelow was the first to hand over, sending Selina Grotian onto the track. The 20-year-old also presented herself as a strong runner and didn’t let any of her competitors get past her. Grotian missed once while prone, but his first spare shot was correct. She still lost almost ten seconds and was back in fifth place. At the front, France took the lead through Paula Botet. At that time, Austria and Finland were in second and third place.
Grotian also had problems in the standing position and missed three times. However, she hit all three shots and remained in fifth place, twelve seconds behind. Finland set the tone at the top, ahead of France and Slovenia. Grotian handed over to Strelow in fifth position. He worked out a better position on the course before the fifth shooting and arrived at the prone stage in fourth place.
Strelow made a mistake once, but France and Finland also made a spare, so Strelow came back onto the trail in second place behind Quentin Fillon Maillet. And there Strelow made up time on France meter by meter – the DSV biathlete was able to gain three seconds.
Strelow showed a flawless performance and sent Grotian back onto the track as the leader. Behind them came France and Finland, who had previously missed shots. Grotian started again with three shooting errors. Although she hit with her spares, Finland and France had already moved away. Suvi Minkkinen was ten seconds ahead of the DSV biathlete.
It came down to the final shooting: France and Finland showed impeccable performances and fought for first place. Grotian missed three times and came back on the track in third place, well behind. In the end we stayed in third place behind Finland and France.