Next setback: Biathlon hope Preuss is out again - "I'm absolutely at a loss"

Created: 01/03/2023 12:18 p.m

By: Melanie Gottschalk

Biathlete Franziska Preuss (right) will miss the first World Cup weekend of the year in Slovenia.

© Johann Medvey/imago

One of the best German biathletes has to pass again at the start of the year in Slovenia.

An infection forces her to take a break. 

Pokljuka - For the German star biathlete Franziska Preuss, things are not going well this winter either.

She had already had to cancel the start of the season in Kontiolahti, Finland, but now she is ailing again and will also miss the first World Cup of 2023 in Slovenia.

“Unfortunately I can't start in Slovenia.

Last week I was caught again with fever, sore throat, snotty nose and persistent cough,” Preuss wrote on Instagram.

She hopes that the blood values ​​will be correct as soon as possible and that she can start training again.

"It's bitter and I'm absolutely at a loss.

But as the saying goes: New year, new luck.”

Biathlon: Another failure of Franziska Preuss a shock

The renewed failure is a shock for one of the greatest German hopes in biathlon.

Because she was not able to start in the World Cup at the start of the season, she was also plagued by an infection.

In Hochfilzen, Austria, she was fit and wanted to gradually work her way back up to the top of the world.

The fact that Preuss cannot train again should make this goal more difficult.

She had to take a break several times last season - and almost missed the 2022 Olympics.

First she was unable to train due to a corona infection, then she injured her foot falling down the stairs.

She was unable to take part in the World Cup until mid-January, and a start at the Olympic Games was in question for a long time.

In the end, however, there was a happy ending and she won bronze in the Beijing relay.

Biathlon: Franziska Preuss wanted to recover during the break

And like last winter, time is running out until the home world championships in Oberhof.

Because whether Preuss can compete again in the World Cup home game in Ruhpolding next week remained open at first.

After breaking the World Cup norm in mid-December, she had still hoped to be able to recover during the break.

"I want to recover and recover 100 percent," said Preuss after the World Cup in France.

"Health is the be-all and end-all." For Preuss, it's now hope that she'll get fit again quickly and be able to attack for the World Cup in Oberhof.

(msb)