The decision about the overall World Cup is made in the last race in the last final sprint. The German biathlon ace Franziska Preuss brought back the yellow jersey spectacularly in the season finals on the Holmenkollen. Her biggest competitor Lou JeanMonnot (France) fell on the last few meters.
Biathlete Franziska Preuss crowned her outstanding season in a dramatic final with the winning of the overall World Cup. At the final start of the mass on the Holmenkollen, the 31-year-old celebrated her fourth win of the season and thus passed the third-placed French Lou JeanMonnot in the fight for the yellow jersey.
Fall in the finals – French French have protest
At the final round, the two rivals were contacted, JeanMonnot fell, Prussia had free rail. It is now clear that the French team has taken a protest.
Prussian is the sixth German winner of the big crystal ball. Before Preuss, Martina Glagow (2002/03), Kati Wilhelm (2005/06), Andrea Henkel (2006/07), Magdalena Neuner (2007/08, 2009/10 and 2011/12) and Laura Dahlmeier (2016/17) won the overall World Cup. Prussia had gone into the race with a gap of five points on JeanMonnot.
For Prussia it is by far the best season of her career. In the World Cup she celebrated four individual victories, secured the small crystal balls in the sprint and the mass start and shone with four medals at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
At the final start of the mass, she made a mistake on the shooting range like JeanMonnot, both fought hard for victory – with the better end for the German. After her fall, it was only enough for JeanMonnot to third behind the Swede Elvira Öberg