Further Medals for the German Team

At the Para Biathlon World Championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia, the second competition day offered further medal success for the German team. On Saturday, February 8, 2025, the German athletes secured gold, two silvers, and a bronze.

Leonie Walter celebrated a major victory as she added another gold to her collection by winning the sprint pursuit. Despite a shooting error, she completed the 3.6-kilometer course in a swift 13:28.6 minutes to become the fastest in the category for women with visual impairments. Her teammate Johanna Recktenwald finished in second place, trailing by 1:23.7 minutes after having already claimed silver on the previous day.

In the standing men's category, Marco Maier earned a silver medal but missed out on the title by a very narrow margin. Maier, 25 years old, lost the title by 2.52 seconds—an increased gap compared to the 1.2-second deficit he faced on Thursday. The Ukrainian Gygorii Vovchynskyi, who shot without error, took home the gold medal.

In the sitting category, Anja Wicker finished third, adding her second medal at Pokljuka after previously winning silver in the sprint. Wicker’s performance was hampered by three shooting errors at the second shooting stage, which prevented her from challenging the two athletes who remained error-free. The dominant US-American Kendall Gretsch continued her impressive run by securing gold, while China's Zahi Yuxin collected the silver medal in this class.