“A huge relief”
DSV ace sprints onto the podium in the fog from Oberhof
Updated on January 8, 2026 – 12:51 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The men’s sprint competition in Oberhof had to be moved forward due to the weather. One German athlete in particular presented himself brilliantly.
The home game in Oberhof began with a sense of success for the German biathletes. Philipp Nawrath secured second place in the sprint – despite a penalty lap. The German Ski Association (DSV) once again managed to make it onto the podium in the second individual race of the winter.
At the finish, the 32-year-old was 13.2 seconds behind the day’s winner Tommaso Giacomel, who also completed one penalty lap. “It’s a huge relief,” said Nawrath in the ARD interview. “I’m glad it worked out that way.”
The other German starters also showed an appealing performance. Philipp Horn finished seventh with one penalty, 38.7 seconds behind. David Zobel came twelfth (+59.9 seconds), also with one penalty, and thus met half of the Olympic standard. Lucas Fratzscher (2 penalties/+1:21.1 minutes) finished just outside the top 15. Justus Strelow (3/+2:13.0 minutes) and Johannes Kühn (5/+2:27.7 minutes) finished further back.
It was a particularly emotional day for Giacomel. With his victory, the Italian remembered the late Norwegian Sivert Guttorm Bakken. The 25-year-old was found dead in his hotel room on December 23rd at the altitude training camp in South Tyrol. The cause of death remains unclear. Giacomel had actually planned a ski tour with Bakken that day.
In honor of Bakken, starting number 1 was not awarded for the ten-kilometer race. The starting area initially remained empty, followed by a minute’s silence with applause from athletes, coaches and fans. At the finish, Giacomel turned his gaze to the sky.
In the afternoon (2:15 p.m.) the women’s sprint is on the program. Due to predicted gusts of over 80 kilometers per hour, the race was brought forward by one day. The next competitions follow on Saturday with the men’s pursuit (12 p.m.) and the women’s relay (2:25 p.m., both on ARD and Eurosport).