Bitter German Debut in Biathlon: "One Wants to Sink into the Ground"

A Bitter German Staff Debut

In Kontiolahti, the quartet comprising Johanna Puff, Franziska Preuß, Danilo Riethmüller, and Philipp Horn finished in fourth place. Debutant Riethmüller became the unfortunate scapegoat.

The German mixed team clearly missed out on the second podium spot, placing fourth after enduring a penalty lap and nine reloads. Their deficit to the winners, Norway, was over two and a half minutes. Riethmüller, who was responsible for the penalty lap, had a tough debut.

Norway triumphed in the contest, narrowly finishing ahead of France, while Sweden took third place.

Bitter Debut for Riethmüller

Junior talent Puff was the first German runner to take to the course and got off to a fantastic start with a rapid fire session at the shooting range. Despite having to reload once during the standing position, Germany fell slightly behind. "I was quite nervous, but it was fun," said the 22-year-old to ZDF microphone. Preuß then started in eighth place, advancing her team to fourth without errors.

In the snow of Kontiolahti, debutant Riethmüller was unable to apply pressure on the leading teams, causing the gap to widen after his penalty lap to more than two minutes. Horn finished the race, bringing the team in fourth.

Comfort from Preuß, Herrmann-Wick, and Dahlmeier

"One wishes to sink into the ground," said the crestfallen Riethmüller, who had trouble reloading and admitted to being overly nervous about his first staff appearance.

Team veteran Preuß immediately comforted Riethmüller, embracing him after his run and defending him in front of the ZDF microphone: "Everyone has been there. We all remember how quickly things can go wrong. Tomorrow is another day!"

Encouragement also came from former stars Laura Dahlmeier and Denise Herrmann-Wick, who acted as experts together.

"The pressure for success in the relay is high, making it challenging to deliver on your debut," said Herrmann-Wick. "You can learn valuable lessons from these experiences for the future," added Dahlmeier.

On Sunday at 1:45 PM, the men's relay will take place in Kontiolahti, followed by the women's team race concluding the first weekend of the still nascent biathlon season at 5:25 PM.

With information from the Sports Information Service (SID)