Disappointment for German Men's Biathlon Relay Team: "I'm Quite Disappointed"

Frustration in German Men's Relay

The relay team composed of David Zobel, Johannes Kühn, Philipp Nawrath, and Philipp Horn could not make a decisive impact in their quest for the podium. Specifically, Philipp Horn expressed frustration about his performance.

In the first relay of the winter, the German biathletes missed out on a podium finish. The team finished in fourth place while the dominant French team claimed victory with zero penalty rounds and two spare rounds.

"Not what we set out to achieve"

Zobel started for the DSV team, which had to restructure after Benedikt Doll's retirement. Zobel had a clean shooting performance but struggled in the skiing portion, with Germany trailing by 40 seconds when Kühn took over. "It was tough today; I didn't feel physically optimal," Zobel told ZDF.

Kühn then had a contrasting performance, managing to keep the deficit manageable despite two spare rounds at the shooting range. Nawrath took over in fourth place and was suddenly in podium contention before three missed targets pushed Germany further back.

Horn, the final runner, could not close the gap and saw the lead widen after his penalty round, resulting in a more than two-minute deficit.

"I am quite disappointed," Horn said. "Two relays, and two fourth-place finishes. That’s not what we set out to achieve. I felt good, yet my shooting was off. This isn't good."

Despite the disappointment, former champions Laura Dahlmeier and Denise Herrmann-Wick encouraged the German men. Herrmann-Wick highlighted the good skiing times, while Dahlmeier noted overall "solid" performances despite setbacks at the shooting range.

France Outshines Norway

At the front, the French team, including Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Eric Perrot, and Emilien Jacquelin, dominated the race. Initially, they were neck-and-neck with the experienced Norwegians, but they quickly distanced themselves from the Bö brothers, Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei, who finished second with three penalty rounds. Sweden took third place with ten penalties.

The women's relay will conclude the first World Cup weekend in Kontiolahti, scheduled to start at 17:25. Unfortunately, planned anchor runner Franziska Preuß will miss the event due to health issues, replaced by Voigt. A reduced distance individual race for men is set for Tuesday at the World Cup.