And there were also a few tears – especially with Franziska Preuss, they were tears of relief. This medal was a special moment for the Bavarian: The 27-year-old has already celebrated more than seven medals at the World Championships, only at the Olympics has she not wanted to win a precious metal.
A lot of relay bad luck so far at Preuss at the Olympics
At her Olympic premiere in Sochi in 2014, the Bavarian fell in the relay as the starting runner – she lost a lot of time on the shooting range cleaning the snow off the gun.
Four years later in Pyeongchang she was unlucky. In the relay, Preuss lost a lot of time at the shooting range – she hit all the targets, but thought she had missed one and reloaded a cartridge, which then had to be removed again.
“On a day like this, biathlon is fun again”
And now it has finally worked. The relief knew no bounds. “That has already done very well today. It was very emotional when you really made it and you can just be happy“said Preuss, who made it to China just in time after a foot injury and corona infection.
“One must never let up in sport – even when there are setbacks. You always have to fight your way through it. On a day like today, biathlon is fun again.”, she said in the Sportschau interview. After a disappointing sprint, Preuss had already asked the question of meaning.
“A special moment” for Hinz
It was not only the first Olympic medal for Preuss: It was also the premiere of precious metals at the Olympic Games for Vanessa Hinz and Olympic debutante Vanessa Voigt. Hinz has a long relay career and is also often referred to as the “season queen”.
“I’ve been through pretty much everything in relays – I’ve had penalties, handed over to Eins with an 18 second lead. It just makes me proud to start for Germany in relays at major events – it’s a special moment.”
Herrmann “almost died on the final lap”
Voigt was very happy at the finish after her run after her flawless shooting performance: “That was exactly what I dreamed of that night”said the 24-year-old, referring to the prominent viewers: “As Markus Eisenbichler said so beautifully: We really want the shitty medal today.”
Denise Herrmann, already adorned with gold in the individual, promised before the race: “We will fight to the knife and give everything to the last inch.” Herrmann was the last runner, started like a rocket and brought the German relay from fourth place to the medal ranks. In the last few meters, however, she lost her strength: “I really died on the final loop”said the Thuringian in an interview with the sports show.
Great praise from the ARD expert Peiffer
Arnd Peiffer gave great praise for the women’s stafel. “I’m really happy for our girls that they managed to overcome their little Olympic trauma. They managed to show their best performance at the climax.” The ARD expert was particularly impressed by how Hinz and Preuss “got the curve” after their shooting errors. “It’s a great medal for the girls and you can tell how relieved they are.”
Olympic medal, praise from the ARD expert and then the joy of the sensational cross-country skiing gold of the corridor colleagues Katharina Hennig and Victoria Carl sweetened the great day in Zhangjiakou. During the ARD interview after the race, the quartet watched the finish line in the team sprint, cheered on the tight decision live and loudly cheered on Victoria Carl. Now everyone is looking forward to the celebration in the German House.
Source: Nicole Hornischer/dpa/sid