Janina Hettich-Walz won the first German medal at the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto. The 27-year-old took silver in the individual over 15 km behind Lisa Vittozzi from Italy.13.02.2024 | 3:06 minutes
Janina Hettich-Walz has ended the German team’s dry spell at the 2024 Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto. She delivered an almost perfect race in the 15-kilometer individual and came second behind the Italian Lisa Vittozzi and in front of the French Julia Simon. Hettich-Walz had never made it to the podium in an individual competition before.
Hettich-Walz is even on course for gold
Hettich-Walz hit all 20 targets and was only 20.5 seconds behind Vittozzi, who also made no mistakes. For a short time, the title even seemed within reach for Hettich-Walz, but she ran out of strength on the final lap. “I have no idea how I managed to flip the switch,” Hettich-Walz cheered at the ARD microphone.
It’s a medal for the whole team.
Janina Hettich-Walz, biathlon vice world champion
The last German individual world champion to date was Laura Dahlmeier in 2017. Two years ago in Beijing, Denise Herrmann-Wick won Olympic gold in the oldest biathlon race.
Simon received a penalty minute and didn’t win for the first time at this World Cup.
Two more Germans in the top five
Like Hettich-Walz, World Cup debutante Selina Grotian and Vanessa Voigt also made no mistakes and rounded off the German team’s very good result. Grotian came fourth, Voigt followed right behind in fifth.
Franziska Preuß was unable to match the level of the rest of the team with two errors.
The men’s singles start on Tuesday at 5:20 p.m. (ZDF live from 5:03 p.m.). The German Ski Association has nominated Benedikt Doll, Philipp Horn, Johannes Kühn and Roman Rees.
Medal out of nowhere
For Janina Hettich-Walz it was a medal that came out of nowhere. Previously, she had finished 35th in the sprint and 25th in the pursuit at this World Cup and then struggled with herself.
“That hasn’t really sunk in yet,” she said after the success in the individual race on ARD: “At the World Championships, only the medals count, so I’m super happy that I was able to get them today.”
Hettich-Walz: Material better this time
In the five previous competitions, Germany’s biathletes had come away empty-handed and had mainly struggled with the poor skis – that was different now.
“I felt really good and powerful. The material was so much better,” said Hettich-Walz, who had never previously been placed in the top 15 in a World Cup competition.
Selin Grotian with a strong World Cup debut
There wasn’t much missing, and there would have been even more precious metal for DSV under the floodlights in the atmospheric World Cup arena in Nove Mesto. Selina Grotian and Vanessa Voigt were only half a minute away from bronze.
“This is a crazy day for the Germans. You can’t understand it,” said 19-year-old Grotian, who made zero mistakes in an individual for the first time in the first World Cup race of her career:
For me it was like in a movie. I can’t even understand it.
World Cup debutant Selina Grotian
Preuß not in the top ten this time
Medal candidate Franziska Preuß incurred two penalty minutes and, as the weakest of the German quartet in 15th place, surprisingly missed out on the top ten.
“That’s super cool for Janina, I’m really happy about it. There’s nothing nicer, you can only take your hat off,” said Preuß, who traveled to the season’s highlight as Germany’s great hope for a medal.
After two sixth places in the sprint and pursuit, Preuß, who was infected with Corona before the World Cup, incurred a penalty minute in the first shooting and was immediately under pressure.
She completed the second and third shooting without any mistakes, but another mistake prevented a better result.
Source: ZDF/dpa