Franziska Preuß narrowly missed the second podium place for the German Ski Association (DSV) at the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti. The 30-year-old, who missed the women’s relay race last weekend due to health problems, took fifth place in the shortened individual over 12.5 kilometers with two shooting errors (+1:09.6 minutes). The error-free Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot secured the victory ahead of the two Swedes Ella Halvarsson (1 shooting error/+12.3 seconds) and Elvira Öberg (3/+56.4).
Behind Preuß, Vanessa Voigt, who took third place in the single mixed with Justus Strelow last Sunday, came ninth with just one mistake at the shooting range (+1:45.0). The young DSV quartet with Selina Grotian, Johanna Puff, Julia Tannheimer and Julia Kink played no role in the awarding of the top places after too many shooting errors.
The men’s sprint continues on Friday in Kontiolahti (4:20 p.m.). The DSV athletes want to make amends after the weak performance in the shortened individual. For the women, the sprint race is scheduled for Saturday (5:10 p.m.) before the World Cup in Finland ends on Sunday with the respective mass starts for biathletes (2:30 p.m.) and female biathletes (5:10 p.m./all ARD and Eurosport).