Denise Herrmann-Wick is one of the most successful German biathletes of the past decade. In 2022 she became a single Olympic champion in Beijing, in 2023 there were another three World Cup medals (once gold, twice silver) in Oberhof at the end of the career. In the first part of the Great Sport.de interview, the 36-year-old talks exclusively about the upcoming biathlon World Cup in Lenzerheide (February 12th to 23rd), the opportunities of the German stars and the resignation of superstar Johannes Thingnes Bø.
Ms. Herrmann-Wick, with the impressions of the past few weeks in biathlon: What expectations do you look forward to the upcoming highlight of the season in Lenzerheide?
Denise Herrmann-Wick: With a very positive one. Especially for women, we can look at the individual races very optimistically with Franziska Preuss and Selina Grotian. Franzi is a medal candidate in all races, it can be a very good World Cup.
Sure, it was not enough for men this winter. Nevertheless, we also have a lot of potential in the team, in Lenzerheide we went really well for our men with four runners in the first six in the sprint race last year. This shows that the route is basically the DSV men. Hopefully you can leave the last competitions behind at the World Cup and then perform again. You definitely have that on it!
The German biathlon men did not really get going throughout the World Cup season, two meager podium places speak a clear language throughout the season. What are the reasons why it is not enough for the absolute top of the world?
The competition is very dense for men and the field is simply very strong, because the outlier has been missing at the top. Everything has to fit very well and you also have to hope for one or the other mistake in the competition. Especially in the Norwegian team, this is something different for men than with women. The second row is also good for top positions. At the World Cup, however, the cards are always mixed.
In the Norwegians, the brothers Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei B in particular haveO With their cancellation announcement, large headlines. It will now be the last big B in LenzerheideO-Stest games?
The two are icons of their sport, they will definitely do their thing again! I know it myself from my last World Cup in Oberhof: This is also emotionally a really big deal. You can grow beyond yourself again, especially since the two are always really fit at medium altitudes. Even if Johannes may not have been as confident as in other years: the basic requirements for top services are very good. But he also has to develop it again every year.
Could it be in the course of the BO-Rocks come to another bloodletting among men? Similar to you two years ago when you also stopped other top biathletes such as Marte Olsbu Röiseland or Tiril Eckhoff with you?
I don’t think that the large resolution wave takes place after Lenzerheide. After all, next year it will be back towards the Olympics. It is atypical to stop a year before. There were family reasons for the bös, otherwise I cannot imagine that many will still delete the sails. In 2023, a lot of strong runners stopped with women, especially in Norway. They are now missing from the Norwegians, they feel like they felt at the moment.
Franziska Preuss will start as the overall World Cup leader at the World Cup in Lenzerheide. How do you look at your previous winter with two World Cup victories and a total of ten podium places?
She had been plagued by illness in the previous years and had had to take a lot of setbacks. Now she denies one of her most constant seasons. It looks very confident and has also developed technically again. I am still traveling with her from time to time and also notice that she has the necessary looseness. It was actually clear from day one that she can shoot well and is a great biathlete. In the meantime, she has already gained a lot of experience with major events – not just positive. That makes her a big favorite. Experience in biathlon is the be -all and end -all. In addition, its shape, which she has shown all winter, comes, so she can already look in the direction of Lenzerheide.
So you definitely trust a World Cup medal or even a World Cup title?
To stand at the top, everything has to go together, so the competition also has to play a bit. But I already believe that she can win a medal. Call up its best form and set real tips again when it comes to the big event is always the big goal of everyone. I wish her the best of luck.
At Selina Grotian, too, the performance curve is steeply pointed up this winter after it showed significant fluctuations last year and was only partly in the IBU Cup. What makes it better this winter?
I don’t have the big insight into the training processes. But there must have been a lot right. She is very talented, is great on skis and runs the best technically from the young guard by far. It is also really well positioned from the mindset, especially for a biathlete. She is very reserved, but still knows exactly what she can and may not yet do. She works meticulously on that and maybe that’s the key to success.
It is also striking for women that with the exception of Franziska Preuss, no German biathlete is one of the best runners in the field. Why is it that it is no longer at the forefront of the terms for a long time?
It is a picture that has been reflected for years. There are a few who can run quite well, after that there is already a bigger distance, that’s right. There is already a big discrepancy in the German team. You can also see that with Ach and Krach, the last reserve woman (Johanna Puff, editor’s note) has qualified for the World Cup. It has been different in recent years. The failure of Vanessa Voigt naturally weakens the women’s team again enormously. You have to see that you have your four girls together, especially for the season.
It worked great in the last races, but nothing should happen in terms of illness. We have some girls who bring a lot of potential and will certainly make their way in the future. But in the World Cup, the wind simply blows a little rougher again than in the IBU Cup or in the junior cup. So, I think, I have to go into the country. We can already look optimistically into the future, but currently there is still a large gradient within the team.
Lenzerheide is still relatively new as a biathlon station, and now with the World Cup the first major event is taking place in the Roland Arena. Can this be a factor for the races – keyword adaptation difficulties?
It has been clear for a long time that the World Cup takes place there. So you get enough opportunities to train again on site. Franzi, for example, used that again. I still know Lenzerheide from the cross -country skiing from the Tour de Ski. This is not complicated there now. The average altitude is not super heavy now, but you have to run with a bit of tact. I assume great conditions, as the last snow will not have to be scratched together like last year in Nove Mesto. In Lenzerheide it is often very sunny, with a lot of snow and a firm slope, in terms of conditions, this becomes excellent.
The shooting range is also not like in Oberhof or Austria, where it is very susceptible to wind. Therefore, it does not become super difficult in terms of the circumstances, which can then also have its own pitfalls.