Philipp Nawrath had to wait a long time for his breakthrough: But at the age of 30, the Allgäu native is causing a sensation and leaving well-known athletes like Johannes Thingnes Bö behind him.
Philipp Nawrath is the surprise in the still young biathlon season. With his victory in the sprint and second place in the pursuit, he secured the yellow jersey. The 30-year-old is a late bloomer. Nawrath celebrated his World Cup debut in March 2017 – but success is only now coming. His triumph in the sprint was the first individual podium in his career.
At the Olympic Games in Beijing he was the tragic figure: as the last runner, he had to go into the penalty loop in the standing stage, which meant he not only lost a medal, but even a possible Olympic victory. But instead of precious metal there was only fourth place. Nawrath recovered from the low blow and is now in a new position.
The Allgäu native already impressed with the individual title at the German Championships in the summer – despite a metatarsal fracture in May, he quickly found his form again. And now he’s suddenly the man in yellow. “It’s crazy. You’ve had so many races and then something like this happens,” Nawrath told the German Press Agency: “I am incredibly grateful for everyone who has helped me along the way.”
Preuß with a sensational comeback
But he wasn’t the only one who impressed in Östersund – the German biathlon team has never started a season so well. DSV athletes were on the podium in seven out of ten races in Sweden, but this only didn’t work in the mixed relays at the start and in the women’s sprint. The German biathlon team was able to celebrate ten podium finishes. And among the women, the overall World Cup leader also comes from Germany.
Franziska Preuß underlined her sensational comeback with two podium places and the yellow jersey. After many setbacks, she was thinking about ending her career just a few weeks ago. Now the 29-year-old, like Laura Dahlmeier last time in 2017, retains the coveted front runner’s bib.
After Olympic champion and world champion Denise Herrmann-Wick retired in the spring, no one dared to dream of such a start. There were great concerns that it would be a dreary winter without any victories. But the good early form and perfect material after the new fluorine wax ban catapulted the Germans forward. “The time here was really good for the whole team. We as a team are really happy about the results,” said Preuss: “Of course we all hope that it continues like this.”
German biathlon fairytale in Östersund
Even the leadership of the German Ski Association is quite surprised by the biathletes’ strong start to the World Championships winter. “None of us doubted that we were on the right path. That’s how much self-confidence we have“said sports director Felix Bitterling.”The fact that such results are now being achieved on a large scale is extremely pleasing, but cannot be planned.“
From a German perspective, the results of the first competitions read like a fairy tale: premiere victories for the veterans Roman Rees in the individual and Nawrath, three Germans taking turns at the top of the World Cup, plus podium places for both relays as well as two for Vanessa Voigt and one for Justus Strelow and Nawrath again. This means the best start to the season ever for the team. “It’s slowly becoming difficult to find the right words for these achievements,” said Bitterling.
“Nobody can take our success away from us anymore”
Although ““The number of races so far isn’t incredibly large.”the sports director stated with a view to the overall leaders Preuß and Nawrath after three individual competitions: “But you still have to assert yourself in this field.” This was also the opinion of national coach Uros Velepec: “I’m proud that Germany now has two in yellow at the World Cup in Hochfilzen.” The next races are on the program in Austria from Friday (December 8th, 2023).
“We’re taking our self-confidence with us. Our belief in what we can achieve has grown even further across the entire team.”said Bitterling: “Nobody can take these successes away from us.”