The DSV women convinced at the end in Kontiolahti, especially Franziska Preuß. But Danilo Riethmüller also has reason to be happy.
Franziska Preuß fell exhausted into the snow. But even at that moment the 30-year-old had a smile on her face. With third place in the mass start in Kontiolahti ahead of Vanessa Voigt and the surprisingly strong Julia Tannheimer, the model German biathlete not only ensured a successful German conclusion to the races in Finland – the frustration over fourth place in the sprint had long since disappeared.
“I made life difficult for myself. It was very tough. But it paid off. I’m really happy now,” said Preuß with a smile on “ARD”. Voigt and Tannheimer also stood next to them with beaming faces after an impressive performance in the 12.5 km race, which was won by the Swede Elvira Öberg.
“I didn’t let myself get carried away. Shooting became easier for me, and I also felt much better on the course,” said Voigt, who was still a distant 37th in the sprint.
Tannheimer, who is only 19 years old, had “a lot of fun” after her first ever World Cup mass start. “Julia had so much euphoria. That infected me,” even Preuss emphasized.
The top talent had already impressed in sixth place in the sprint on Saturday. When asked what school grade the high school graduate would give herself, she replied: “One, to one minus, I couldn’t have done much better.” Experiencing the flower ceremony with Preuß felt “totally surreal,” said Tannheimer. Preuß was still “totally annoyed” because he was just 0.1 seconds short of the podium in the sprint.
Riethmüller strong fourth
In the men’s race, Danilo Riethmüller was “really happy” with Frenchman Eric Perrot’s victory. In the 15 km mass start, the 25-year-old took fourth place after having to break off the steep “wall” shortly before the finish. “Of course it would have been even nicer to get on the podium. But I noticed right from the start that I was missing a bit of punch,” said Riethmüller after the best result of his career.
Philipp Nawrath, who finished third in Friday’s sprint for Germany’s first podium finish of the winter, had to settle for 17th place this time after five shooting errors.
After the conclusion of the races in Kontiolahti, the race continues on Friday in Hochfilzen, Austria. Sprint races, the first pursuit of the winter and the relays will take place there again until Sunday. A World Cup is planned in Le Grand Bornand before Christmas, before the German stations Oberhof (January 9th to 12th) and Ruhpolding (January 15th to 19th) are on the program at the start of the new year.