Body no longer participates
Season ended: World Cup out for biathlon star
28.01.2025 – 10:04 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The biathlon season ends prematurely for Vanessa Voigt. The body of the Thuringian no longer participates. This also has consequences for the German women’s relay at the World Cup.
The German biathlon team has to do without Vanessa Voigt at the World Cup in Lenzerheide in Switzerland. The 27-year-old announced on Instagram that she will no longer run any further races this season. “After several medical checks, I will not run races this season,” wrote Voigt. She emphasized that her health comes first: “At the moment I find hardly any words and it will certainly take a certain amount of time before I find it again.”
The Thuringian had a severe respiratory infection over Christmas and New Year, which forced her to take a longer competition and training break. She had already failed several times and most recently missed the races in Antholz. She had shown strong results in the season, including a second place in the persecution of Hochfilzen and a third rank in Le Grand-Bornand.
In an emotional contribution, Voigt described that the current season was a “real fight” for her. In addition to mental loads, her body suffered in particular. Their full concentration is now preparing for the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy.
As the German Ski Association (DSV) announced, serious complications were excluded from Voigt, but longer recovery was necessary. In a fitting state, it would have been firmly integrated into the German season, which after two World Cup victories this winter as a medal favorite in the World Cup. The season already competed without Voigt at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding. Nevertheless, Stefanie Scherer, Selina Grotian, Sophia Schneider and Franziska Preuss were able to secure victory.
The World Cup title fights will take place from February 12th to 23rd, in which the German quartet wants to fight for a top placement without Voigt. A place in the World Cup team remains vacant for the time being. In addition to Franziska Preuß, Selina Grotian, Julia Tannheimer and Sophia Schneider, the fifth athlete is only determined after the European Championship races in sprint and persecution that start on Wednesday.
There are no surprises in the World Cup contingent for men. The DSV relies on Philipp Horn, Johannes Kühn, Philipp Nawrath, Danilo Riethmüller and Justus Strelow. A total of twelve titles will be awarded in Lenzerheide on nine competition days.