This circumstance led to the experienced athlete attracting attention with good results in the IBU Cup at the beginning of the season. After victories in the sprint and pursuit at the start in Idre, Sweden, the two-time Olympian even became a candidate for the World Cup squad again.
Got a chance, used a chance
When Anna Weidel dropped out of the third World Cup of the season in Hochfilzen due to illness, the time had come. Franziska Hildebrand made her comeback in the upper house of biathlon. “I have to say, I’m happy that I was able to show my performance again. Also for myself, because that’s my claim. It’s nice when I realize that I’m slowly becoming competitive again,” rejoiced the 34-year-old.
Their competitiveness among the best in the world can be documented with numbers and rankings. While she already made people sit up and take notice with 21st place in the pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria, things went even better afterwards. With a 17th place in the sprint and a 20th place in the pursuit in January in Ruhpolding, she just barely missed the specified partial Olympic standard. Her form curve continued to show upwards – crowned by a convincing performance in the relay that was flawless on the shooting range. After the home World Cup in Bavaria, there was a lot to be said for Hildebrand’s Olympic nomination as the fifth German starter, i.e. substitute runner, for Beijing.
The nomination process is frustrating
But things turned out differently. And that is due to the nomination process of the German Olympic Sports Confederation. “The criteria for an Olympic nomination of the DOSB are clear”, says Bernd Eisenbichler, sporting director of the DSV biathletes.
They are as follows: For the Olympic norm in the World Cup, the German ski hunters must have finished in the top 15 twice or in the top eight once. Anyone who finishes only once between ninth and 15th place fulfills the so-called partial standard. So far, so understandable.
“Now have to accept that”
This partial standard is the only entitlement to run again for Olympic participation in Antholz, at the last World Cup before the Olympic Games. Since Hildebrand lacked this partial standard, the races in South Tyrol are no longer relevant for her nomination.
“Unfortunately, Franziska Hildebrand just missed the partial standard several times”, states Eisenbichler. “But we would have liked to have included the individual from Antholz in the evaluation and only then nominated it”, the sports director continues. “We made special requests, with many analyses. But we have to accept that now. From a sporting point of view, that’s a bit of a shame.”
Weidel gets a place in the Olympic squad
Anna Weidel is the fifth German biathlete to go to China. The 25-year-old finished ninth in the individual race in the first race of the season in Östersund, Sweden – and thus broke the partial norm. Also in the following sprint she showed an appealing performance with a 16th place. The Bavarian then dropped out due to illness. In their few subsequent season inserts never jumped out more than a 52nd place.
But since Weidel has already met the partial standard, she can still go to Beijing instead of Hildebrand, who is in much better shape. The motto therefore applies: standard before form.
Discussion of nomination procedures
“After the case of Franziska Hildebrand, I would of course like to see a discussion about the nomination process.”, sums up Bernd Eisenbichler. “When the core team is in place (the best four athletes, editor’s note), we should still be able to discuss the norm with the fifth or sixth athlete. Everything should remain fair and also go through committees, but I think they Sports expertise should play an even bigger role.”
Eisenbichler emphasizes that the interaction between the German Ski Association and the German Olympic Sports Confederation “works well” and “no one made a mistake”. Nevertheless, the case of Franziska Hildebrand now reveals deficits in the nomination system that will have to be discussed in the future.
Status: 01/21/2022, 07:15