Is there a crisis because of Denise Herrmann-Wick?

Gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, gold at the 2019 World Cup and the recent home World Cup in Oberhof: Denise Herrmann-Wick is currently THE figurehead in German biathlon – and has saved the DSV women from a real crisis in recent years. However, speculation about their future is worrying.

After switching from cross-country skiing to biathlon in 2016, Denise Herrmann-Wick hardly needed any warm-up time to secure a place in the bulging history books of the DSV: The Saxon, who still took bronze at the 2014 Winter Olympics, celebrated in 2017 won the cross-country relay, her first two World Cup victories. In 2019, the first gold coup on the big stage followed at the World Championships in Östersund.

Seven years after Herrmann-Wick’s first appearances in the Biathlon World Cup, the 34-year-old’s CV is filled with successes and medals, but the end of her impressive career doesn’t seem too far away.

After Herrmann-Wick’s Olympic victory, quite a few experts predicted the end of his career. The triumph at the home World Cup in Oberhof has not necessarily silenced the voices recently.

Biathlon: That’s what Denise Herrmann-Wick says about her resignation

The ears must have been all the more pointed when the ski hunter recently pondered a possible end to her career on “Bayerischer Rundfunk”.

“Life is currently giving me a weapon and cross-country skis,” Herrmann-Wick opened, but then added: “I actually thought to myself in 2022, I should actually stop now, 2023 can only get worse.”

In addition, she has had “a moment in her head that fits well” for some time. It cannot be ruled out that Herrmann-Wick will announce her resignation in the spring.

Should that happen, the German Ski Association faces a mammoth task. Since Franziska Preuss, probably the most talented German biathlete behind Herrmann-Wick, has been struggling with mental and physical problems for years, German biathlon is threatened with a bottom.

Of course, at the World Championships, two biathletes from the second row with Sophia Schneider and Hanna Kebinger with top 10 results indicated that they could be part of the world elite. But there is still a piece missing to the absolute top. The pressure should also increase enormously if Herrmann-Wick’s successes cease.

Biathlon icons a gift for the DSV – and part of the problem

“I’m not scared because there are several who are coming,” Germany’s former biathlon high-flyer Laura Dahlmeier said confidently in an interview with “dpa”.

The seven-time world champion also pointed out that she hopes for a strong return from Preuss, “behind which the younger ones can hide again”.

The truth is that Dahlmeier is a part of the problem himself. The fact that the Garmisch-Partenkirchen native announced the end of her career in 2019 at the age of only 25 is of course a personal decision that must be fully respected.

What the German biathlon landscape owes to Dahlmeier during her short career can hardly be quantified.

However, it cannot be denied that the regular duel with the figure of light and Dahlmeier’s wealth of experience would have been an excellent breeding ground for the German biathlon juniors.

Especially since almost immediately before the start of Dahlmeier’s picture-book career, Magdalena Neuner, an athlete who had shaped the sport like no other, ended her career at the age of just 25.

Two biathlon talents fuel hope

To mention that the German biathletes would have dominated the scene with Neuner, Dahlmeier and Herrmann-Wick in the last few years remains an idle thought game.

The reality, on the other hand, is: Dependence on Herrmann-Wick’s successes and the fear of the bleak prospects that would entail if the top star left the big stage.

However, there is a glimmer of hope: Selina Grotian, a DSV talent at the age of just 18, won the pursuit title and bronze in the individual at the 2023 European Championships in Lenzerheide. With Lisa Spark (22), another German hopeful secured the title over 15 kilometers.

So the future could be bright even without Herrmann-Wick. However, the offspring will not have much time to get used to the limelight.

Marc Affeldt

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