“Biathlon is not what it used to be”

German biathletes disappointed again in the Soldier Hollow sprint and narrowly missed out on the podium – and then struggled with adverse track conditions.

“My motivation was very low when I saw the track conditions,” said top performer Selina Croatian after the race. ARD-Microphone: “You've got to pull yourself together, it's the same biathlon as it was a year or two ago. It's a bit embarrassing looking back, but I think I did well.

World Cup debutant Croatian knows her way to the 2022 Junior World Championships, where she triumphed – her first of a total of five World Cup gold medals in the youth category. Similar to the World Championships in Nové Mesto, Soldier Hollow has experienced hot weather over the past few days, with temperatures reaching double digits at times – once again showing how climate change poses long-term challenges for winter sports.

With the victory of Justine Bryzas-Bouchet from France (1 penalty loop), the Croatian finished 13th as the best athlete of the German Ski Association (DSV). After a penalty, the 19-year-old was over a minute and a half ahead of the French winner. Grotian didn't have a bad result (“I'm very satisfied”), but the overall results for the DSV girls were sobering.

The German ski hunters, starting again in America without the ill Franziska Preuss, lost a lot of time, especially on the cross-country ski trails. Behind Croatian, individual silver medalist Janina Hettich-Walls (2 penalties/+1:57.2 minutes) finished 20th. “I felt awkward on the course,” the 27-year-old said.

Vanessa Voigt (1/+2:34.8 minutes) still struggled after finishing 36th: “It was very difficult from the start. They tried everything, but when they arrived, they noticed that even putting salt on the road didn't help. It was pretty low, which is a shame of course, because the training really affected my strength.

The Thuringian – This week former biathlete Miriam Neurether in Game 1-Reprimanded in an interview for his material criticism during the World Cup -Also admitted that he was struggling in the World Cup final: “I'm physically tired, but also mentally. Season reduces your strength.

Debutant Julia Kink (2/+2:44.6), who won gold in the mass start and women's relay at last week's Junior World Championships in Estonia, was “very happy” to finish 42nd in her first World Cup race. Sophia Schneider (3/+3:01.2) was 48th and Johanna Buff (3/+3:42.0 minutes) was 65th. And Buff made it clear how much he had to struggle with the conditions “on every lap”. The path got deeper.

In a close battle for the big crystal ball, winner Bryzas-Boucet finished second with overall World Cup leader Ingrid Landmark Dantrevold of Norway. Upcoming Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot completed the stage.

German women, far from the top, chase with a big mortgage on Sunday (5pm). Before that, the biathletes' relay race (8.25pm) and the men's sprint race (11pm) await Saturday in the US state of Utah – where the German relay team with Benedict Dahl reached the podium in Soldier Hollow on Friday. The season finale will be held in Canmore, Canada from March 14 to 17.

With Sports Information Service (SID)