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Franziska Preuss
Photo:
Sven Hoppe / dpa
Franziska Preuss and Vanessa Hinz clearly missed a medal in the final mass start of the Biathlon World Championship in Pokljuka.
In the first World Championship title for Austrian Lisa Theresa Hauser, Preuss was sixth on Sunday, while Hinz was tenth.
Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (+21.7 seconds) and Tiril Eckhoff (+23) completed the podium.
Preuss was almost 30 seconds short of the precious metal he had hoped for.
This meant that the German female ski hunters, who had won silver in the relay the day before, were without a World Cup individual medal for the first time since 1997.
It was last in 2013 in Nove Mesto
with silver for Andrea Henkel only given a medal for women in world championships.
Denise Herrmann's fourth place in the sprint remains the best individual result for women in Slovenia.
Hauser, who is also looked after by the former German coach Gerald Hönig, thus secured the first ever world title for an Austrian female ski hunter.
Preuss made two penalties and was 52.6 seconds behind the winner after 12.5 kilometers, with the two Norwegians Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (1 error / + 21.7 seconds) and Tiril Eckhoff (3 / + 23.0) relegated to the medal places.
After a mistake, Hinz crossed the finish line 1: 21.2 minutes behind.
Preuss had secured relay silver on Saturday with an outstanding shooting performance and a phenomenal final sprint and was considered one of the medal candidates.
“I'm absolutely within reach.
There are just small adjustments that sometimes don't fit.
But I did a really good World Championship and I'll take that with me, «said Preuss, who competed in all World Championship races.
The missed individual medal is motivation for the coming season.
Denise Herrmann had to forego her start at short notice.
As the German Ski Association announced almost two hours before the race, an illness is the reason for the decision.
It is purely a precautionary measure, said team doctor Jan Wüstenfeld and ruled out an infection with the corona virus.
The day before, Herrmann had won relay silver with Preuss, Hinz and Janina Hettich.
Icon: The mirror
ngo / dpa
