The German men’s biathlon quartet took their first podium of the winter at their home race in Ruhpolding and raised hopes of a medal at the Olympic Games in Italy. The team led by final runner Philipp Nawrath secured third place behind France and series winner Norway.
“Insane team effort“, said Philipp Nawrath happily. “I did everything I could to keep at it.” However, he was annoyed about his spare loader at the last shooting, which, in his opinion, prevented him from achieving an even better placing.
Strelow lays the foundation stone
Justus Strelow, currently the most accurate German ski hunter, was supposed to be the starting runner and put the DSV quartet on course for a podium finish at the home race. In the narrow field he allowed himself a spare reload while lying down, but while standing he fired all five shots quickly and safely into the bullseye.
It’s not always possible to keep his nerve, but this time he was satisfied, said the 29-year-old at the ZDF microphone. His motto: “Better the safe zero and not quite so quickly“. Strelow even took the lead for a while.
Riethmüller takes advantage of his chance
But the competition held on and Danilo Riethmüller, who fought his way back into the World Cup team thanks to good performances in the second-tier IBU Cup, was able to take fourth place.
Like Strelow, he needed a spare while lying down, but delivered it perfectly while standing and put the quartet in the lead again. “I’m extremely happy that I got the chance to show what I can do in Ruhpolding“, said the 26-year-old Harzer. “I approached it with corresponding motivation.”
Zobel remains on course for the podium
Riethmüller was able to send David Zobel onto the trail with a narrow lead. The 29-year-old from Upper Bavaria defended his podium ambitions with nine goals and good running performance behind Sweden and series winner Norway. “It’s going according to plan. It’s really exciting and really beautiful” beamed Zobel. “We have a huge advantage with the stands behind us.“
The perfect template for final runner Philipp Nawrath, who was able to reach a new level on the shooting range in the current season and confidently took on the fight for the top three. A reloader didn’t disturb him while he was lying down. The 32-year-old kept up with the top runners from Sweden, Norway and France.
The decision was made in the last shooting. France headed towards the finish with a slight lead over Germany and Norway. First place was taken, Nawrath managed to get close to Norway’s last runner Christiansen despite a spare, but had to admit defeat by 1.7 seconds in the fight for second place.