The German biathletes have to digest the next disappointment. When the Italian Dorothea Wierer won, Franziska Preuß and Co. ran behind her.
Dorothea Wierer surprisingly won the first individual race of the season on Tuesday (December 2nd, 2025) in Östersund, Sweden. The experienced Italian won handily ahead of two young athletes: Sonja Leinamo from Finland (+3 seconds) and Camille Bened from France (+8.4 seconds).
It was the 17th World Cup victory for the 35-year-old Wierer. After a difficult last season – Wierer didn’t score a single point in the individual – she impressively returned to the top of the world in her farewell season. And that despite the fact that her start on Tuesday was shaky until the end, as she revealed on ZDF. She was struggling with a sore throat and a cold. Wierer himself seemed extremely surprised by the success: “Is the race even finished?”she asked with a smile in the ZDF interview.
After 15 kilometers, Dorothea Wierer was 3 seconds faster than the Finn Leinamo.
Wind causes a lot of missed shots
Strong winds caused major problems for many athletes at the shooting range. Franziska Preuß was also unable to use her otherwise confident shooting skills. And so last season’s overall World Cup winner also fell short of her expectations in the individual race over 15 kilometers. After a disappointing eleventh place in the relay, the 31-year-old placed 29th far back in the individual competition with a total of four errors.
The Bavarian crossed the finish line more than three minutes behind Wierer. “What unsettles me the most is the running time”said Preuß after the race on ZDF. “But it is what it is, I hope you can improve because I don’t feel that bad“Preuss added.
Franziska Preuß had big problems on the track.
Voigt with big ones difficulties at the shooting range
The remaining DSV athletes also had to struggle: Vanessa Voigt (3 errors) ran acceptable times, but then had difficulties in the fourth shooting. It took her 52 seconds to fire her first shot – and it missed. “I can’t say what was going on inside me. I was very unsettled, now it’s time to check things out, I know I can do better“, said Voigt after the race. In the end, the 28-year-old came in 39th place.
DSV athletes knocked off
Janina Hettich-Walz was the best German. The silver medalist from Nove Mesto placed 17th with a total of four penalty minutes. “I did well in terms of running, but four mistakes are too many, it’s a shame it wasn’t enough for the top 15”said Hettich-Walz after the race.
The remaining DSV runners Selina Grotian (50th/+4:57.3 minutes), Marlene Fichtner (68th/+6:23.5 min), Julia Tannheimer (76th/+7:12.4 min) and Anna Weidel (89th/+8:38.7 min) finished far behind.