Zhangjiakou (dpa) – The German cross-country skiers surprisingly won Olympic silver in the relay.
Katherine Sauerbrey, Katharina Hennig, Victoria Carl and Sofie Krehl only had to admit defeat to the Russian selection over 4 x 5 kilometers in China. The Swedes took bronze.
The quartet led by team boss Peter Schlickenrieder brought the battered German cross-country skiers their first medal at the Winter Games since 2014. At that time, the women’s relay team with Nicole Fessel, Stefanie Böhler, Claudia Nystad and Denise Herrmann won bronze.
Strong DSV quartet
For all four German athletes in Zhangjiakou it was by far the greatest success of their careers so far, and the joy at the finish was correspondingly great. First runner Sauerbrey, who has been surprisingly strong at her Olympic premiere so far, did a very good race and handed over to Hennig in second place just behind Russia. The best German cross-country skier from Oberwiesenthal had to assert herself against very strong competitors like Natalia Neprjajewa.
First she ran onto the Russian and then even passed her. She handed over to Victoria Carl with a lead of 4.3 seconds. Norway’s Therese Johaug was already 22.8 seconds behind Hennig after the Norwegians fell right at the start. “We’ve never been that close. We deserve it,” said Hennig on ARD after her run.
Carl defended his lead and switched to anchor Krehl. In the end she had to give up the lead, but she defended second place with a lead of 2.5 seconds and was enthusiastically received by her teammates at the finish.
Before the Olympics, it was hard to think of a medal
Before the trip to the Winter Games, a medal for the German team seemed very unrealistic. However, previous appearances in China had encouraged the cross-country aces. On their parade route over ten kilometers in the classic technique, Hennig finished fifth, Sauerbrey took eleventh place. In the sprint, Carl in tenth and Krehl in eleventh also impressed.
You can “flirt with a medal, but you can’t count on it,” Hennig said after the classic race, adding: “We will fight for it and give everything – like pigs, as they say in German.” The fighting spirit paid off. After the success, the women have a break from competition on Sunday. Then the men are challenged in the relay (8.00 a.m. / ARD and Eurosport).