The German biathlon men succeed in the season that almost nobody would have believed. The bronze medal is probably the biggest surprise of this World Cup – it is a sensation that will be worth a lot in the look at.
A very clever saying says: “Good timing is everything in life.” It has not been handed down whether the German biathlon men went through their heads before the World Cup season of Lenzerheide. Anyway, your timing for a great performance could not have been better. “Such a medal can do a whole season”the final runner Philipp Horn mused about the importance of this bronze medal: “I think that gives us all energy and an upswing. Nobody will think about the bad results in a few years. We will remember this day that we have emotionally celebrated together.”
When biathletes cry
It is also particularly touching moments this Saturday afternoon (22.02.2025) in Switzerland, which are mostly used and mostly made for the outside world. After it is clear that the German men’s relay would win World Cup bronze, it breaks out of Johannes Kühn and Philipp Horn. Kühn, who celebrates his first World Cup medal, cries. Philipp Horn, who stood in front of the press a week ago after his completely messed up sprint competition and said that the World Cup was running for him, fights with tears. At the latest on the podium, he finally lost this fight. It is probably the sweetest defeat of his career.
“The last time I cried with luck at my wedding”it literally bubbles out of the 30-year-old. This bronze medal of the German biathletes is undoubtedly the most surprising at these world championships. Only the boldest optimists will seriously flirt with precious metal. In addition, this success is not only unexpectedly – behind him some stories and fates hide.
Strelow surprisingly not in the contingent
Let’s take Justus Strelow, for example. The 28-year-old Sachse was surprisingly not taken into account for the season for some experts. The best German shooter and two-time medal winners of the current title fights had to watch from the edge of the route. And he did that as an absolute team player. From outside he cheered on his teammates, even though they were brought up to him and he had to struggle with this fact and disappointment in some, fleeting moments. “I know what it’s like to watch”gives teammate Johannes Kühn on record:“Then I saw Justus in the last round and told myself that I am now going for him.”
Johannes Kühn writes his own fairy tale
It is precisely this Johannes Kühn, which is his own little fairy tale at these World Championships. The Niederbayer had not been nominated for the World Cup sprint by the coaching team-a hard blow for the 34-year-old. He stayed without use for the entire first week. He couldn’t hide his frustration in front of the journalists, but maybe he didn’t want to. With a good portion of anger in the stomach, he had already ran to a decent twelfth place in singles, but he highlighted his best performance for the relay. Good timing.
German men end the “shooting crisis”
“It was not necessarily about the fact that it was a World Cup relay, but that I could help the team”the 33-year-old explains his emotional outbreak after the race. For a short classification: Kühn had rarely presented himself in public so positively. “I’ve been there for so long and it never worked with the World Cup medal. It was just a relief. I am very proud of how we did it as a team today.” In the past, the man from WSV Reit at the angle at the World Cup relay race on the shooting range had repeatedly failed-was also responsible for the five medal years of the DSV men because of the criminal rounds.
But not in this race. Kühn remained flawless at the shooting range. Overall, the German team in its problem discipline showed a strong answer to the increasingly louder criticism. “Shooting crisis” threatened to become the wording of the World Cup. The DSV ski hunters withstood the pressure with eleven loading and without a penalty round. “The men have grown beyond themselves today. They all had to show a special achievement”also confirms Sportschau expert Arnd Peiffer the peculiarity of performance: “Precisely because it happened last weekend and that means to go out with a sense of achievement: that then turns into the whole World Cup benevolently. That is why this medal makes a very big difference.”
“Oh, how is it nice”
This is followed by the overjoyed sports director Felix Bitterling. “The men did not forget biathlon who had a little crisis. It just didn’t fit together. If they went well, they shot badly and vice versa”he looks back: “It is all the better that you have the thing now. That gives an emotional push for the last trimester.”
By the way, this means: by the way: “Good timing is everything in life.” Who would have thought that the men’s relay would be the reason from which the German fans in the Swiss arena loudly “Oh, how is it nice” would roar. “The men now have their own medal, before that they were only involved in the mixed successes”sums up Arnd Peiffer: “The team was scolded because they did not get to the level of the women’s team. That is now doing really good.”