Who would have thought that! The German biathletes convinced at the World Championships in Antholz even without gold. Even if there was no medal in the last race.
Antholz (dpa) - Even if the German biathletes decorated with relay silver on the previous day no longer won a medal at the big World Cup final, Magdalena Neuner gave kudos for the achievements of their successors in Antholz.
"My conclusion is positive," said the ARD expert. "My assessment was actually that I thought the men were the ones who won medals here. In the end, it was the girls," said the record world champion. "Of course a gold medal would have been great."
But the seven gold medals were won by the Norwegian Marte Olsbu Röiseland (5) and the Italian Dorothea Wierer (2). With her final triumph on Sunday in the mass start in front of Wierer and the Swede Hanna Öberg, Röiseland won her fifth gold. She is now the first ski hunter to win seven medals in seven starts. "I'm overjoyed, it's just a great World Cup," said the 29-year-old about her appearances in the South Tyrol Arena.
On the final Sunday, Franziska Preuss (3 mistakes) was the best German ski hunter in eighth place over the 12.5 kilometers, 1: 00.3 minutes behind. "There was nothing more in it. I'm already pretty physically exhausted," said the 25-year-old. Together with Erik Lesser, she had won silver in the single mixed relay and was part of the silver women's relay alongside Denise Herrmann, Vanessa Hinz and Karolin Horchler on Saturday. "Basically, I'm happy to go home with two medals," said the Bavarian, who had placed in the top eight in all individual races. "A top result in every single race, that's just cool," she said.
Despite seven penalty laps, Denise Herrmann, who was second in the pursuit, finished twelfth in the mass start. "It was fine with running, but it annoys me immensely how it is easy to give a better placement," said the 31-year-old. "But the World Cup was still very, very good." The previous cross-country skier had cleared a complete set of medals in Östersund last year, winning gold in the pursuit and bronze in the mass start in addition to mixed silver.
Karolin Horchler (3) finished 13th, Vanessa Hinz (3) finished 17th in the World Championship. By winning silver over the 15 kilometers, 27-year-old Hinz had caused one of the biggest surprises from a German perspective. "For me, a dream has come true," she said. "Now I'm looking forward to at home, to my grandma, to my aunt. They already chilled the sparkling wine, then we can celebrate a bit at home."
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