Biathlon: Herrmann-Wick misses the podium – Öberg wins the pursuit

In skiing, Denise Herrmann-Wick was also the best in the Pokljuka biathlon pursuit. But two failures was too much for the podium.

Denise Herrmann-Wick missed the podium in the Pokljuka biathlon pursuit. When Sweden’s Elvira Öberg won on Saturday January 7, 2023, the Saxon finished seventh. Two penalties after shooting errors were too many for sixth in Thursday’s sprint, despite another strong race. At the finish, the German was 15 seconds from the podium.

Start-finish victory for Öberg

Öberg celebrated a start-to-finish victory in the 10 kilometer race in Slovenia. After four clear shots without a penalty loop, the 23-year-old crossed the finish line in glee in 29:41.6 minutes. It was already the seventh World Cup victory of her career for the solid Olympic relay champion.

Wierer ahead of Simon on the podium

In the duel for second and third place, Italian Dorothea Wierer (+ 17.6 seconds) with a shooting error won against World Cup leader Julia Simon from France (+ 22.4 seconds), who also had a penalty loop. In Thursday’s sprint, Simon finished second ahead of Wierer.

Norwegian Roeiseland with a strong run

Marte Olsbu Roeiseland also had a great race. The three-time Olympic champion, who returned to the World Cup after a corona infection, finished 16th in Thursday’s sprint with a shot error in the pursuit and finished eighth. This made the 32-year-old the top athlete in pursuit.

Herrmann-Wick: ‘I would have liked 0-0’

Herrmann-Wick, who clocked the second-fastest time in the 10k, was unhappy despite missing the podium and a penalty each in the second prone stage and the first standing stage. “Nevertheless, it was a good run. I would have liked a 0-0 in the prone position. But it was better to shoot again today.”said the individual Olympic champion on ZDF and explained the tactic: “I tried to do my best. But you can already see how the opponents are shooting. You have to invest a bit more, which you then notice at the end.”

Despite the good race time, she did not feel optimal: “I put myself in front of the shins a bit. It was quite fast today, the day before yesterday it was still slow. I still have problems with the change.”said the 34-year-old.

Voigt and Hettich-Walz 26 and 33

Vanessa Voigt and Janina Hettich-Walz have nothing to do with the podium with two and three shooting errors. After a 23rd place in the sprint and a penalty each, Voigt fell back to 26th place (+ 2:48.2 minutes). Hettich-Walz started the race from 45th place. In the meantime, the 26-year-old was able to work her way up to 28th place after the third shot. However, due to two errors in the last standing stage, Hettich-Walz fell back to 33rd (+3:22.5 minutes).

“Health is not optimal” – Weidel does not start

Of the German quartet qualified for the pursuit, Anna Weidel was not at the start. Thursday’s 26th sprint dropped out for health reasons. “Anna Weidel had been sick during the Christmas period. In the sprint, it became clear that his condition and health are not yet optimal, so we have decided together to forgo competition stress for the time being.”team doctor Katharina Blume is quoted in a report by the German Ski Association (DSV).

Before Weidel, Franziska Preuss and Vanessa Hinz had already decided not to start in Pokljuka due to illness.