Denise Herrmann did not manage to defend the title, but the former cross-country skier also shone with her silver in the pursuit. It was the first medal at the World Championships for German biathletes.
Antholz (dpa) - Denise Herrmann beamed after her silver coup and got a kiss from her boyfriend at the finish.
"I am very, very satisfied and overjoyed with silver," said Herrmann after the first medal for the German team at the Biathlon World Championships in Antholz, Italy, and was just happy. Although the 31-year-old missed the title defense, she nevertheless celebrated a great success with her fourth World Cup medal. "It's a shame that the first and last shot went by," said Herrmann.
"Otherwise we always make phone calls immediately after each race, but being here now and celebrating the medal with her makes me all the more happy," said Herrmann's friend, the cross-country skier Thomas Wick, who had arrived the day before and brought his egg liqueur donut to his girlfriend would have.
In the pursuit, Herrmann ran silver behind Dorothea Wierer on Sunday - even gold would have been possible. Sprint Fifth Herrmann, who did not manage in the mixed relay and in the sprint at the shooting range, made three mistakes this time as well, being 9.5 seconds behind the victorious Italian, who only had to run one penalty. Sprint world champion Marte Olsbu Roiseland (3 mistakes) from Norway took bronze.
The Sprint 14. Vanessa Hinz (1 mistake) finished fifth, sprint eighth Franziska Preuß (2) came seventh. Karolin Horchler was 15th and was one of two biathletes at the shooting range free of mistakes. "We got fit at the right time," said women's coach Kristian Mehringer.
The German ski hunters showed a solid performance this time in the South Tyrol Arena. "I am delighted that the medal has finally worked. That gives the whole team a real push," said two-time Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier, who was the TV expert for ZDF for the first time at the World Cup.
Herrmann's first shot missed the mark, Preuss, Hinz and Horchler got away without a mistake when they first appeared at the shooting range. The outstanding runner Herrmann caught up on the cross-country trail second by second and came to the shooting range in third position after Roiseland and Wierer. While the Norwegian and the Italian remained flawless, Herrmann had to go into the penalty loop. The backlog grew again, but the Saxon remained in third place. And even had the chance of gold, but the very last shot went wrong. "It was tight," said Mehringer.
Herrmann's story is impressive. In 2012, she picked up a rifle for the first time during a trial training session in Ruhpolding. But despite the fascination, she lacked the courage to change at the time. The feeling of not being finished with cross-country skiing prevailed. As the best German cross-country sprinter, there was hardly anything to get against the Scandinavian superiority.
Four years later, in spring 2016, she was ready for the new adventure. Herrmann took a risk for the successful retraining. She invested and still invests countless hours in shooting training, even at home in dry training, refining her weapon and technology. She shows great meticulousness and professionalism. There were many doubters. After all, at the age of 26, she had to line up behind in the strong Ruhpolding training group. But Herrmann bit through. The success stories of cross-country skiers like Kati Wilhelm, who has become a multiple Olympic and world champion, are sure to be in sight.
Barely a year and a half after the sporty new start, Herrmann celebrated her first two World Cup victories in Östersund before she won a complete medal set with gold in the pursuit and a silver and bronze medal at the last World Cup and even outshone double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier.
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