With Denise Herrmann-Wick, the most successful German biathlete of recent years has ended her career, in the men’s category the only contender Benjamin Doll will be entering the home straight of his career next winter and the long-standing hope Franziska Preuß is stuck with a plague season: the future of the German biathlon turned out to be rosier. But there are some glimmers of hope, especially among women.
“After 16 years of cross-country skiing and seven years of biathlon, it’s time to start a new chapter. I’m looking forward to the adventures that life now has in store for me”: With these words, Denise Herrmann-Wick announced her resignation in mid-March Competitive sport. A statement that represents a turning point for German biathlon sport.
For the first time in over 30 years, the DSV women’s team is missing a real contender. Even the prospects of regular placements on the podium have rarely been worse.
“Now Denise, who intercepted everything as a front woman because of her performance, is gone for the time being. The team must therefore be completely reorganized with regard to the coming season,” emphasizes Olympic champion Michael Rösch to “Eurosport” the radical cut in the German Team. Nevertheless, he is “fundamentally optimistic” about the future.
The fact that a certain optimism is appropriate is underlined by the results that the German ski hunters achieved in March 2023 at the Junior World Championships in Kazakhstan: In 18 races, German athletes won nine gold and six silver medals. A yield that even overshadows the offspring of the Norwegians, who are outstanding in the World Cup (5 gold, 3 silver, 9 bronze).
Above all, Selina Grotian, who won four titles and was also crowned European Pursuit Champion at just 18 years old in 2023, raises more than faint hopes that the next German superstar is already in the starting blocks.
The high-flyer indicated on her debut in the World Cup that Grotian can already keep up with the elite. In the Oslo sprint, the DSV talent took 44th place despite two shooting errors. Grotian was particularly convincing on the cross-country ski run, despite his high start number. With a flawless race, a place in the top 20 would have been possible.
Of course, it is also clear that neither Grotian nor the just 17-year-old Julia Tannheimer, who won three titles at the Junior World Championships and ran the competition to the ground, nor the 22-year-old individual European champion Lisa Maria Spark for the leap into the absolute top of the world still need time.
How does the biathlon crown princess return to the World Cup?
After Herrmann-Wick’s resignation, others will have to step into the breach for the time being: Vanessa Voigt, Hanna Kebinger and Sophia Schneider (all 25 years old) in particular indicated in the winter of 2022/23 that they had their sights set on the world’s best. If the next step follows, the trio is quite capable of one or the other surprise.
The fact that the gap behind Herrmann-Wick is so big is not least due to unfortunate circumstances. With Franziska Preuss, the Crown Princess has actually been ready for years. When the Bavarian finished third in the overall World Cup in 2020/21, the changing of the guard seemed to have already taken place – then Preuss’s luck ran out.
In 2021/22, the seven-time World Cup medalist was increasingly suffering from physical problems, and 2022/23 was an absolute epidemic season for Preuss. When she had to end her season prematurely in January, Preuss announced on Instagram that she definitely “would like to continue her career at the world’s top level”, but “finally had to get properly and permanently healthy again”. When this is the case is still in the stars. In top form, however, Preuss is exactly the athlete who gives the German camp the necessary support.
Ex-cross-country star should inspire biathletes
While the women are more likely to see a shallow bottom than a drought, a look into the near future of German men’s biathlon gives cause for greater concern.
With Benedikt Doll there is still a contender in the ranks of the DSV men, but the 32-year-old announced that the coming winter will be his last as an active player. With Roman Rees, a second German made it into the top 10 in the overall ranking in 2022/23. At 30, however, Rees is no longer betting on the future either. The same applies to Johannes Kühn (31) and Philipp Nawrath (30), who can also set exclamation marks on good days.
That leaves the two 26-year-old DSV “chicks” David Zobel and Justus Strelow: Both indicated in 2022/23 that ideally a place in the top 10 is possible, Zobel even landed sensationally on the podium at the beginning of the season, but the truth is one also that both are miles behind the world leaders in the cross-country ski run.
A bitter circumstance that should probably also be counteracted with the recent restructuring of the coaching staff. After 13 successful years, men’s coach Mark Kirchner is passing the baton on to his assistant Uros Velpec. At his side, the DSV also ordered ex-cross-country skier Jens Filbrich, who won two Olympic and seven World Cup medals between 2001 and 2011.
DSV sports director finds clear words
The really big miracles are probably not to be expected from the second guard of the DSV men so quickly. The 21-year-olds Benjamin Menz and Hans Köllner and the 18-year-old Albert Engelmann have proven their talent at the World Junior Championships, but the great future cannot yet be read from them.
In the German men’s biathlon “a small hole is currently opening up”, DSV sports director Felix Bitterling also confirmed to “Sport Bild” that the near future is not particularly rosy. “Basically, you have to be realistic and say that we will need two or three years before we can get the next ones up from behind.”
It is therefore to be feared that the 2023 World Cup, which is historically weak from the men’s point of view, will not remain an isolated case. However, Bitterling’s words at least give reason for hope that things will improve before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Marc Affeldt