German Olympic drama in the biathlon mass start: "Eleven fingers frozen off"

Created: 02/20/2022, 12:07 p.m

By: Christoph Klaucke

Germany misses its last chance at biathlon medals at the Winter Olympics.

The mass start races on Friday can be read in the ticker.

• Biathlon: Olympic mass start for women (8 a.m.) and men (10 a.m.).

• The women clearly miss the medals in the wind chaos.

• In the last biathlon race at the Olympics, the men also give up their last chance for a medal.

  The mass start in the ticker to read.

Men's Biathlon Mass Start: The Final Result

Summary:

For the first time since 2010, the German biathletes end the Olympic Winter Games without a medal.

In the final mass start over 15 km, Benedikt Doll made six penalties in extremely difficult wind conditions and was the best German in eighth.

The gap to Norway's Johannes Thingnes Bö (4 penalties), who won his fourth gold medal in the sixth race, was 2:31.4 minutes.

Silver went to the Swede Martin Ponsiluoma (2) ahead of Vetle Sjastad Christiansen (Norway/3).

Just over seven seconds behind Doll, Johannes Kühn (5) finished tenth.

Roman Rees was 14th with three penalties, Philipp Nawrath had to settle for 23rd place after seven penalties.

"The wind was definitely a sticking point for me," said Nawrath on ZDF.

Up until the first standing stage, he and Doll had been flawless in second and third place, but then the gusty wind picked up again.

Biathlon disaster: German men without an Olympic medal in Beijing

Before the trip to Beijing, those responsible for the German Ski Association (DSV) had wished for two medals per gender.

The women met this requirement with individual gold from Denise Herrmann and bronze through the relay.

In the mass start on Friday, they too remained without a medal, Franziska Preuss was eighth as the best German.

On Sunday, the biathlon team's trip home to Germany is on the agenda.

Bö, meanwhile, set a record for Norway with their 15th gold medal, a country that had never before achieved this at the Winter Olympics.

At the same time, he is following in the footsteps of his famous compatriot Ole Einar Björndalen, who won four gold medals in Salt Lake City in 2002 in just four competitions at the time.

The 28-year-old Bö only got nothing in the pursuit in Beijing, he won bronze in the individual.

Biathlon drama: Benedikt Doll's fingers were temporarily frozen off in the Olympic mass start.

© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa

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Biathlon: Men's relay lands on the podium in Antholz - Voigt with the best career result

The 2021/22 Biathlon World Cup continued on Sunday with two races in Antholz.

The men ran in the relay, the women competed in the mass start.

chiemgau24.de was included in the live ticker.

Biathlon: Men's relay lands on the podium in Antholz - Voigt with the best career result

No podium finishes: biathletes are looking for Olympic form

The first of two home World Cups for biathletes comes to an end without a German podium.

In Oberhof it is tight at the top, but others have the better end on the World Cup routes of 2023.

No podium finishes: biathletes are looking for Olympic form

German Olympic drama in the biathlon mass start: "Eleven fingers frozen off"

11 a.m.:

Benedikt Doll finished eighth despite six shooting errors.

“In the eleventh lap, eleven of my fingers were temporarily frozen off, that was pretty hard, luckily it got warm again.

At the last shooting I had to hit everything for the medals.

I tried it, unfortunately it didn't work.

It wasn't enough for a medal again," said Doll on ZDF.

10.41 a.m .:

Benedikt Doll finishes in eighth place, 2:31 minutes behind, followed shortly afterwards by Johannes Kühn in tenth place.

This means that the German biathlon men have not had a medal for the first time since Vancouver 2010.

10.38 a.m .:

Gold for Johannes Thingnes Bö!

The Norwegian wins comfortably with a 40-second lead over Sweden's Martin Ponsiluoma, who takes silver.

Bronze goes to Norway's Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen.

Quentin Fillon Maillet has to be content with fourth place.

10.35 a.m .:

Johannes Thingnes Bö leads by more than 30 seconds in front of the Swede Ponsiluoma.

Christiansen is in third place.

Behind him, Fillon Maillet is giving it his all for his sixth Olympic medal in six races.

But that's going to be damn tight.

Biathlon: Olympic mass start NOW in the live ticker – German disaster in the last shooting

Fourth shooting: Four penalties by Doll in the fourth shooting.

Just now the wind is whistling in again.

So all medal hopes for Germany are gone.

Nawrath also shoots four tickets, Rees holds two penalties.

Fourth shooting:

Johannes Thingnes Bö clears the first three targets in a hurry and concedes two penalties at the end.

That could cost him gold.

Ponsiluoma makes only one mistake.

Fillon Maillet has to go round three times.

But Thingnes Bö remains in the lead.

10:27 a.m .:

Benedikt Doll is in sixth place, more than a minute behind the leader Johannes Thingnes Bö.

In second and third place (Fillion Maillet and Ponsiluoma) it's already over 40 seconds.

Is that enough for a medal?

Third shooting: Johannes Thingnes Boe puts in a rapid-fire bout in standing but misses a target.

No, Nawrath has three penalties and the medal is gone.

Benedikt Doll also has to go round twice.

Is that bitter!

10.20 a.m .:

Doll is now fourth, the gap has increased slightly to 20 seconds.

10.18 a.m .:

Is that strong!

Nawrath is in second place and is sitting on Bö's neck.

Doll is struggling and is in sixth place, 17 seconds back.

Second shooting: YESAAAAAA!

Doll and Nawrath clear all discs.

The DSV duo goes into the cross-country ski run with little behind Johannes Thingnes Bö.

Rees and Kühn also remain flawless.

10.12 a.m .:

Philipp Nawrath is in a strong fourth place, followed by Benedikt Doll.

The Gow brothers from Canada are in the lead ahead of Sweden's Samuelsson.

10.10 a.m .:

Benedikt Doll and Philipp Nawrath are almost ten seconds behind after the first shooting.

The first basis for a medal has already been laid.

First shooting:

Benedikt Doll, Philipp Nawrath and Roman Rees clear all targets under the eyes of the Nordic Combined athletes.

Johannes Kühn has to go into a penalty loop.

10.05 a.m .:

The Germans around Johannes Kühn in 13th position and Benedikt Doll in 19th position are in the pursuit field.

However, the gap is only a few seconds.

Roman Rees is already 30 seconds behind.

START:

The biathlon men go to the Olympic mass start.

The pace is high right from the start.

This is unusual for a mass start.

Quentin Fillon Maillet leads the field in front of him.

The Bö brothers Tarjei and Johannes Thingnes follow.

9.59 a.m .:

Benedikt Doll starts the race with start number 12.

9.50 a.m .:

The biathlon men have to complete 15 kilometers in the freezing cold (-15 degrees).

The biggest problem, however, is likely to be the wind.

First there are two prone shootings and then two standing shootings.

Biathlon: Olympic mass start NOW in the live ticker - men want to defy wind chaos

9.30 a.m .:

In half an hour, the biathlon men will start the Olympic mass start.

After placing in the top ten several times, Germany's hopeful Benedikt Doll finally wants to win a medal.

The Black Forester won the last mass start before the Olympics in Antholz.

Philipp Nawrath is in excellent running form.

Roman Rees and Johannes Kühn want to cause a surprise.

9.12 a.m .:

“I felt reasonably okay on the track.

It definitely fits with the history, I'm satisfied," said Franzsika Preuss, who finished eighth in the mass start, after the race on ZDF.

Preuss was infected with the corona virus at the end of last year.

In shooting, which was affected by strong winds, she had four penalties.

“The wind was very unstable, you fired every shot with care.

One mistake per round is okay.

It was a happy ending, especially with the medal yesterday," said Preuss.

8.52 a.m .:

Women’s national coach Kristian Mehringer explained the poor performance of the German women in the biathlon mass start with the strong wind.

"It's a shame that the wind blew in so badly.

The best won, she took her chance.

You also need luck in shooting.

It was probably not much more possible, ”said Mehringer on ZDF.

Biathlon: Olympic mass start NOW in the live ticker - DSV women miss medals in the wind chaos

8.44 a.m .:

Vanessa Voigt is 18th with a deficit of more than three minutes.

8.42 a.m .:

Franziska Preuss finishes eighth, 1:26 minutes behind.

A good result, not enough for a medal at the shooting range.

Denise Herrmann is 13th, 2:09 minutes behind.

8:41 a.m.: GOLD for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet.

The French celebrates in the flag at the finish line.

Tiril Eckhoff takes silver, 15 seconds behind, bronze goes to her Norwegian colleague Röiseland.

8.37am:

Braisaz-Bouchet is 30 seconds ahead of Eckhoff and 42 ahead of Röiseland.

The medals appear to have been awarded.

Fourth shooting:

Denise Herrmann has two penalties, Franziska Preuß shoots only one mistake.

Vanessa Hinz also makes two mistakes.

Preuss is eighth, but the medals are far away.

Fourth shooting:

Leader Braisaz-Bouchet misses the first but then shoots clean.

That should be gold for the French.

Röiseland and Eckhoff afford two penalties, Öberg even three.

8.28 a.m .:

Madness!

France's Justine Braisaz-Bouchet breaks away and puts more than 15 seconds between herself and Röiseland, Davidova, Eckhoff and Öberg.

Franziska Preuss and Denise Herrmann are in eleventh and twelfth place, one minute behind.

Third shooting:

Eckhoff and Röiseland take their time with the first shot.

They want to wait for the first gust.

Two penalties for Röiseland and Eckhoff.

The Norwegians try to limit the damage but remain in the lead.

Vanessa Hinz also makes two mistakes.

Herrmann and Preuss shoot only one mistake.

Voigt has to go into the penalty loop twice.

8.22 a.m .:

The standing shooting that follows could shake up the field again.

We are curious.

The wind whips up the snow.

8.18 a.m .:

The two Norwegians Eckhoff and Röiseland break away from the competition at the top and have a 33-second lead over Frenchwoman Julia Simon at halftime after six kilometers.

Vanessa Hinz is almost a minute behind despite shooting clean.

For Herrmann and Preuss it's already more than 90 seconds.

Biathlon: Olympic mass start NOW in the live ticker - DSV stars have to go into the penalty loop

Second shooting:

Öberg has two penalties.

Eckhoff and Røiseland hit everything.

Vanessa Hinz hits everything again and takes up the chase.

Denise Herrmann and Franziska Preuss have to go into the penalty loop again, Vanessa Voigt even misses two targets.

8.12 a.m .:

The other DSV runners now have to avoid the penalty loop in the second prone shooting in order to get back within striking distance of the medal ranks.

Everything is still in there.

8.10 a.m .:

Tiril Eckhoff, Hanna Öberg and Marte Olsbu Røiseland remain flawless and take the lead.

Vanessa Hinz is tenth, almost 30 seconds behind.

First shooting:

Denise Herrmann, Franziska Preuss and Vanessa Voigt have to run a penalty loop.

Vanessa Hinz is the only German to clear all five targets in the prone position and is in tenth place.

8.06 a.m .:

There was already a fall.

The Ukrainian Julija Dschyma loses control in the curve.

But she can continue and the other runners can also avoid a fall.

8.02 a.m .:

Denise Herrmann immediately takes the lead and sets the pace.

In the first lap, however, there is still no increase in pace, everything is concentrated on the first shooting.

START:

The biathlon women start in the mass start.

Who can break away first.

Denise Herrmann and Vanessa Voigt are in strong running form.

7.58 a.m .:

It is not only very windy in Germany, there are also strong gusts of wind in Zhangjiakou, China.

Not an easy task for the girls right at the shooting range.

It's about to start!

7.55 a.m .:

Vanessa Voigt wanted a medal as a small child, at least that’s what the biathlete revealed in her poetry album.

Let's see if the childhood dream comes true today in the mass start.

It already worked out with bronze in the relay, is it now the first individual medal?

7.17 a.m .:

What’s in it for the German biathlon women?

Individual Olympic champion Denise Herrmann also counts on chances in the mass start.

Vanessa Voigt should also be expected, but Franziska Preuß and Vanessa Hinz can also be trusted.

We keep our fingers crossed.

Update from February 18, 6 a.m.:

In exactly two hours, the biathlon mass start of the Olympic women will start here.

We are excited!

Biathlon: Olympic mass start in the live ticker – Germany hunting for gold one last time

First report from February 17, 9:12 p.m.:

Zhangjiakou – The Olympic Games are on the home straight, until Sunday there will be a fight for medals.

The German delegation has done an excellent job so far and - especially in the golden ice channel - cheered vigorously.

A few days before the end of the games, "Team D" is therefore in a strong second place in the medal table.

Will there perhaps even be a big race to catch up for first place?

Probably not.

The Norwegians have already rushed too far, Germany still has to catch up on at least four gold medals.

And there is even a flagship discipline for the Scandinavians: the biathlon mass start.

On Friday there are two more races, the women start at 8 a.m. German time, the men follow at 10 a.m.

We accompany both competitions here in the live ticker and are already curious: What's in it for Norway?

What's in it for Germany?

Biathlon: Olympic mass start for women and men on Friday in the live ticker

The longing for a sparkling happy ending is of course great among the German biathletes.

After the relay drama with the thankless fourth place, Benedikt Doll, Philipp Nawrath, Roman Rees and Johannes Kühn want to avoid a zero number at the Olympics in the final mass start.

"Motivation and confidence are great," said Nawrath, who is one of the world's best runners.

That's why he expects "a few smaller chances" in a duel with the stars around Johannes Thingnes Bö or Quentin Fillon Maillet.

In addition, "everything is paletti" again, assured the 29-year-old two days after his nerves failed as the final runner at the last shooting.

With a penalty loop, the Bavarian had given up a possible medal - but all of that is forgotten before the final race.

Biathlon on Friday: The schedule

• Biathlon, mass start, women: 8 a.m. (CET)

• Biathlon, mass start, men: 10 a.m. (CET)

Biathlon: Olympic mass start - men with last chance for first medal

Doll also wants to attack fully and is confident.

"So I don't have to do magic," said the 31-year-old sports soldier, who had only been missing small things to earn precious metal in Zhangjiakou: "It'll be fine." The Black Forester won the last mass start before the Olympics in Antholz, a good omen?

The journey home from China should take place on Sunday with precious metals in hand luggage if possible.

Because no men's medals for the ski hunters at the Olympic Games - that last happened in Vancouver in 2010.

Before the trip to Beijing, those responsible for the German Ski Association (DSV) had wished for two precious metals per gender, and the DSV men can at least hope for a happy ending.

After nine of eleven races, the DSV has two medals on the credit side, as many as eight years ago in Sochi.

The imminent low point was averted in China by Denise Herrmann's individual gold and the bronze women's relay.

Biathlon: Women's Olympic mass start brought forward by one day

Inspired by the medal win, Herrmann, Franziska Preuss, Vanessa Voigt and Vanessa Hinz want to cause another surprise two hours ahead of the men.

Due to the icy temperatures of less than minus 18 degrees Celsius in combination with the icy wind, the race was brought forward by one day.

With only one rest day, it will be "a really tough thing," said individual Olympic champion Denise Herrmann, who, however, praised the decision of the world association IBU: "No one can use a lottery mass start at the Olympics."

Now the cards are “mixed the same”, said Herrmann and announced: “Everyone is hot.” ​​The 33-year-old hopes for “a little bit of luck on our side” and good material to “perform well again from this flow be able".