Vanessa Voigt, Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Preuss and Denise Herrmann will start in the women’s Olympic relay on Wednesday (February 16, 2022, live on the sports show stream and TV) – and they absolutely want a déjà vu of the Olympic relays in Pyeongchang 2018 (8th place) and Sochi 2014 (11th place).
Vanessa Voigt opens the German season
There is a surprise at the first position: Vanessa Hinz, who has been the long-standing start runner, will not start the relay, but Vanessa Voigt. In view of this task, the 24-year-old was not unsettled by her messed-up performance in the mixed relay: “I definitely have more desire than jitters. Of course, everyone could express their ideas as they would like. But no matter what position I’m in, I have to perform.”
Vanessa Hinz is looking forward to her appearance in second place and is counting on a lot for the DSV quartet, even if the favorites are different: “There will be a surprise. So far I haven’t had any, so I was surprised about a medal winner. And: I still have a score to settle with the Olympics.”
Franziska Preuss follows in third place
Franziska Preuss is also not used in her usual position as the last runner. Individual Olympic champion Denise Herrmann takes on this role. Preuss, who was mentally battered after initially disappointing Olympic appearances, can get used to this order very well: “The three is good for me. I’m glad that Denise is running to the end.”
Her previous negative experiences in Olympic relays, when she fell as the starting skier in Sochi in 2014 and lost a lot of time at the shooting range in 2018 because she assumed she had missed a target that had fallen long ago, no longer played a role: “It’s not in my head anymore.”
Denise Herrmann optimistic about the material
After the difficulties in the sprint and pursuit, it remains to be seen how well equipped the German athletes are on the track. But the cold could play into the hands of the DSV quartet.
The weather is developing in a similar way to the individual, when Olympic champion Herrmann von “rockets underfoot” spoke. And so the 33-year-old is optimistic on this question: “If it gets freezing cold again, we have better cards” – another Olympic medal for the German biathletes seems possible.