In the fifth sprint competition of the season, the ski hunters delivered a thrilling race in the biathlon stronghold of Ruhpolding. The Swede Hanna Oeberg stormed to victory ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot, who was leading the overall World Cup. The Italian Lisa Vitozzi was celebrated for third place. Local hero Franziska Preuß narrowly missed the first podium of the winter in front of a big crowd. Selina Grotian secured half the Olympic standard in 15th place.
Unimpressed by the large and loud crowd in the Chiemgau Arena, Franziska Preuß performed perfectly in the 7.5 kilometer sprint race. She had dealt with the negative experience from the relay with a penalty lap well. Preuss cleared all the targets. The Upper Bavarian crossed the finish line to loud cheers and could hope for a top place. What Preuss was most happy about was, “to finally get through with a zero again in standing shooting.” But: “It’s no longer enough to shoot zero, you also have to shoot zero quickly.”
Öberg at the highest level
It wasn’t enough for a place on the podium, because the competitors were also very accurate – and impressed with even faster running times. Above all, Hanna Öberg, who was already in Olympic form. The Swede, who achieved her second sprint success of the season, was able to take 7.5 seconds off Lou Jeanmonnot (FRA). Close behind, the Italian Lisa Vittozzi (+11.7s) moved onto the podium.
Grotian is fighting for an Olympic ticket
In the DSV team, Selina Grotian (1/0) was still fighting for her ticket to the Olympics. Since she received a penalty in the prone stage, she had to fight for a place in the top 15 until the end. With him, Grotian now has at least half of the required standard. Julia Tannheimer (0/1) came in 16th, right behind Grotian – her ticket was already booked.
Sophia Schneider (1/1), on the other hand, had to run two penalty laps, but was able to celebrate World Cup points in 30th place. Janina Hettich-Walz (0/2) also went 300 meters extra, and like Vanessa Voigt (1/1), she was well behind Schneider. Ultimately disappointing for Hettich-Walz and Voigt, who have already met their Olympic standards.
