As of: February 24, 2024, 7:00 a.m
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Biathlon World Cup: (from left) Janina Hettich-Walz, Sophia Schneider, Selina Grotian and Vanessa Voigt celebrate bronze.
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
Great premiere for Selina Grotian at the Biathlon World Championships in Nové Mesto: For the first time, the athlete from SC Mittenwald was among the “big ones” and then she immediately won precious metal.
Mittenwald - Led by individual runner-up Janina Hettich-Walz, World Cup newcomer Selina Grotian (fourth in the individual), Sophia Schneider and Vanessa Voigt won the bronze medal in the relay - despite the short-term absence of the ill final runner Franziska Preuß.
A year after taking silver at the home World Championships in Oberhof, the DSV quartet had nine spares and were only beaten by France and Sweden.
At the finish the gap was 1:14.2 minutes.
The conditions on the track were bad
Silver was enough at the previous three World Championships, and fourth place in Östersund in 2019.
With poor track conditions again, Hettich-Walz opened for the German team.
She impressed at the shooting range with two fast series, but the problems with material and route continued on the cross-country ski trail; when she switched to Grotian, the gap to the top was a good 27 seconds.
All three spares used in prone shooting
Grotian also struggled at first, needed all three spares in prone and Germany had already fallen back to ninth place.
After a flawless standing stage, Germany was on course for a podium finish.
“I thought to myself, now I have to get the zero,” reports Grotian.
Voigt started the race as the third runner - but she lost a lot of time.
Final runner Schneider finally ensured the happy ending.
“It’s crazy,” says the Mittenwald native happily.
Grotian, who was actually only taken to the Czech Republic as a substitute runner, also competed in the final race in the mass start.
Things didn't go well there: Grotian made seven mistakes and came in last place.
But regardless, it was a fantastic World Cup.