Philipp Nawrath and Sophia Schneider finished sixth in the single mixed competition at the Biathlon World Championships. The enormous speed in the race was not the problem. Too many mistakes at the shooting range prevented a better result.
“There was more speed here than at Schalke,” said DSV ski hunter Philipp Nawrath on the “Sportschau” microphone after the single-mixed competition in Oberhof, “an extreme speed”.
Sophia Schneider, representing Denise Herrmann-Wick, opened the race and, after zero penalties in prone and three spares in standing, handed it over to Philipp Nawrath in fifth place. The 30-year-old initially remained flawless and was fourth at times directly behind the eventual winner Johannes Thingnes Bö.
“Running behind Bö on the second lap was sporty. I actually felt good and it worked, but I had to pay for it a bit standing up. I needed three spare rounds, that was a sticking point in our race,” said Nawrath, who was just able to avoid the penalty loop.
Biathlete Schneider: “We did our best”
However, since Schneider was not able to hit all five targets including the three spares in her second round and therefore had to go into the 75-meter penalty loop, the DSV duo slipped to seventh place in the meantime. “The wind was different from the first shooting,” explained the 25-year-old: “I turned the diopter again before reloading – it wasn’t a good stop. Everything has to be right to move up to the medals.”
Nevertheless, the DSV duo, which had surprisingly been nominated for the single-mixed relay, was satisfied with sixth place. “We did our best,” said Sophia Schneider. Philipp Nawrath added: “In terms of attitude, it was positive. We made up one place. I think it’s a great sixth place.”