Berlin – It is true that Erik Lesser gave away his first individual podium in over a year with just one penalty in the last shooting. But sixth place for the 33-year-old in the final pursuit race at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding on Sunday, as well as two second places in the relay and Benedikt Doll in the sprint, were a sign: Three weeks before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, the German biathletes are in the right direction – and despite Johannes Kühn’s Corona case, confidence is increasing.
“Today it was pure agony on the track. But my form curve is pointing upwards towards the Olympics,” said Lesser, who, as one of six possible German Olympic drivers, collected sporting arguments for the only four possible starting places. And some new fans on social media. Not German, but Russian. “Right now my Instagram account is exploding. I find it blatant and funny how many people take an interest in a gesture that is simple for me,” said the 33-year-old, who selflessly helped his Russian opponent Eduard Latypow in the Corona emergency. “I think it’s nice that it’s being honored, but a quarter of that would also be enough,” said Lesser, not entirely serious, with a wink.
More than 5000 new fans on Instagram
Before his sixth place in the sprint on Thursday at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding, the Thuringian was followed by 91,700 fans on the social network. There are now more than 97,000 – and the new fans are almost exclusively Russian. “It’s easy for me to help. It’s nothing special, ”Lesser wrote to his Russian followers, whom he also expressly thanked. After Latypow tested positive for the corona virus at the World Cup in Oberhof the previous week and two weeks of quarantine were ordered, Lesser equipped the Russian with a bicycle and a wheel roller. “After it became known, I told Russian television that they should pass my offer on to the team. They came to my place on Sunday evening and picked it up,” Lesser reported at the World Cup in Ruhpolding. He also gave Latypow shoes and a pair of trousers. In his own equipment, Lesser continued to improve his form on Sunday with his second sixth place.
Doll, who finished 11th in the Chase after four penalties, also gained confidence in the sprint with his first clean shooting in two years. In addition, David Zobel finished tenth in the hunt, half the Olympic standard. Philipp Nawrath meanwhile underpinned his position as goalkeeper in the relay. However, Norway’s top stars, who were going to a training camp, were not present in Bavaria.
The women around the ailing Franziska Preuß, on the other hand, are still falling short of their expectations and also missed the hoped-for leap in performance in the Chiemgau Arena, which was empty due to the corona. Franziska Hildebrand (34), who has not yet qualified for the games, achieved the best results with 20th place in the pursuit and 17th place in the sprint. With the relay it was only enough for fourth place. “We still have to stay calm. We still have two weeks to prepare ourselves well,” said the sporting director for biathlon, Bernd Eisenbichler.
Herrmann with weaknesses at the shooting range
Although they did a very good pre-season, the women’s results are not there. Medal hope Denise Herrmann, who skipped the pursuit in Ruhpolding with a view to Beijing and will only compete in the mass start in the last races before the Olympics in Antholz on Thursday, still has too many weaknesses on the shooting range. Only in fourth place in the season, when Vanessa Hinz made a mistake, could she see an upward trend.
The hitherto weak Hinz improved in the pursuit by 34 places to rank 26 and thus had at least one sense of achievement. Vanessa Voigt shoots solidly, but cannot keep up with her running. However, it seems possible that Hildebrand will be allowed to travel to China as one of five German women without qualification.
After her corona infection and foot injury, Franziska Preuss is only now starting rehabilitation training and will also miss the World Cup in Antholz. “At the moment it’s not the case that she can think about competitions,” said women’s discipline coach Kristian Mehringer. She contested her last race on December 12th. It is still unclear whether Kühn, who also had to be quarantined because of a positive test, will return to the team in South Tyrol.