Vanessa Voigt pumped her fist and then leaned over the barrier to encourage finishing runner Julia Kink, who was on her way to the podium, in the final few metres.
There was no trace of the uncertainty of the day before, when the biathlete almost ruled out participation in the relay after the race.
Voigt explained immediately after the race at Soldier Hollow that she was not currently in a position to help the team. Women's coach Christian Meringer decided differently and relied on the 26-year-old on Saturday. He was right in that decision, because the DSV foursome ended up in second place in the US, and thus higher than ever this winter. She previously achieved two third-place finishes at the World Cup in Östersund and Ruhpolding as well as a bronze medal at the World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
Hettich-Walz shivers during the second photo shoot
“I took a few minutes to myself and then I realized that I'm always in line for a reason. I didn't win it in the lottery, I worked hard for it and I think I was able to flip the switch,” Voigt said on ARD after a flawless performance at the shooting range. “.
Janina Hittsch-Wals (3 spare), Selina Grotyan (3) and Julia Kink (1), who replaced the “rather ill” Sofia Schneider at short notice in her first World Cup relay appearance, put in a strong performance and won Sweden and Austria ranked third and fourth. Norway won by 17.2 seconds.
Hettich-Walz immediately started off with a flawless performance in the prone position, but then had to reload three times in his second shooting session. “My legs were shaking and I could almost see myself in the penalty ring. I’m glad I was able to avoid them,” said the individual world champion runner-up.
Voigt can't maintain the lead
After Hettich-Walz, Grotjean, who had been the best German in the previous day's sprint race in thirteenth, took over. She led Germany to second place before Voigt even started and even took the lead after the first shootout. “She said she was doing it for the team, which I thought was incredibly powerful,” Grotyan said of Voigt.
Voigt was unable to maintain the lead. But she and Kink got second place. The World Junior Champion was left behind as the last runner in a head-to-head duel with overall World Cup leader Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold. “I think we were well able to put everything aside. Of course the conditions were much better and it was more fun,” said Voigt, who was able to smile and cheer again with her teammates.
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