Biathlon relay in Ruhpolding: “The spares feel like opponents”

SThey had almost been forgotten, the Chiemgau snow shovels had a dreary existence between cobwebs and layers of dust. The renaissance of the old snow shovel took until January, when more snow fell from the sky than in a long time. There is hardly better news for the biathlon stadium in Ruhpolding – the white masses from above save the cross-country ski trail builders from major tricks below. The only thing that no one can take away from the biathlon athletes is artistic shooting.

Franziska Preuß from Ruhpolding provided the most recent proof. At the start of the World Cup competitions in her hometown on Wednesday, the 31-year-old made a mistake in the last target shooting. She missed the target four times while standing – and incurred a penalty lap. So it happened that the German women’s relay team, which had recently appeared stronger, not only missed the podium of the top three nations at the dress rehearsal for the Olympics, but also slipped out of the top of the world, at least for the moment. In the end, the German quartet came in sixth, in the final sprint team Norway had the fastest legs or skis, and Italy took second place ahead of the Swedish team.

In Ruhpolding the snow turned into a swampy mixture away from the racing trail and the spectators needed a good mud plan. According to reports, they also had that in the German relay team. At halftime, 20-year-old Julia Tannheimer had handed over as the leader, and she raced unstoppably away from her opponents in the shadow of the Zirnberg, compensating for her missed target in prone and handing over to Janina Hettich-Walz. The race was opened by Vanessa Voigt from Thuringia, who was the only German athlete to get through this relay without any mistakes at the shooting range, but not quite as quickly as her teammate Tannheimer, who was eight years younger. “We had great skis today, I was able to make up a lot of time on the flat,” said Tannheimer after the end of her shift in the Ruhpolding Mixed Zone. There, where Preuß finally arrived with a penalty loop in his luggage.

The last shooting, staying cool when it counts: a strength of the 31-year-old that led her to overall World Cup victory last winter. “Not so at the moment,” said Preuss. “It’s very bitter when you have to turn left into the penalty loop in front of the home crowd.” You could actually see it on her face at the shooting range. The otherwise confident quick shooter seemed stressed. She said she “already heard it rattling” to the left and right of her. “You can’t do magic around there forever, otherwise the others will be gone one way or another.” While she was still lying down and hitting the targets in the style of a robot, the finale became a trembling act. “The spares feel more like an opponent to me right now,” said Preuss. “As soon as I have to reload it just wobbles.”

Quite a few of the 13,700 in the audience would have wished things were different, there was so much hooting, hollering and jingling. By the evening at the latest in the Ruhpolding cult stadium “Penalty Round” they will have forgotten and forgiven it.