The sprint in Hochfilzen couldn’t have gone better for Franziska Preuß. The German biathlete sensationally took victory.
What a sprint in Hochfilzen: Almost everything went according to plan for the German biathlete Franziska Preuß. She remained flawless in the prone position. She missed once while standing. She also presented herself strongly on the track. In the end it was enough to win (21:06.0) – the German top performer also took over the yellow jersey for the leader in the overall ranking.
Laura Dahlmeier said on ZDF about Preuß’ victory: “She was simply convincing, from start to finish. She really had it in her own hands.” Preuß was very happy and concluded: “I’m very satisfied. It’s really surprising that I won today, I’m really happy. I had really good legs.”
In Hochfilzen, Preuß’ partner, the former German biathlete Simon Schempp, became world champion in the mass start in 2017. For Preuß it is the first win of the season and the second win of her career. Frenchwoman Sophie Chauveau came second (+7.7). Third place went to Norwegian Karoline Knotten (+10.1).
In addition to Preuß, her teammate Selina Grotian also showed what she can do. The 20-year-old finished in fifth place and also only missed once (+30.2). Vanessa Voigt narrowly missed making it into the top ten and came twelfth (+44.7).
Grotian said about her second-best career result on ZDF: “It’s a new world for me to be so far ahead. It gives you new self-confidence, I’m happy.” The German also emphasized the good atmosphere from the fans, which made a “brutal difference”.