After darts in forced break: biathletes want next successes

Franziska Preuß was the only member of the German team to hit a few training shots in the Oberhof biathlon arena. The rest of the team left it to easy cross-country skiing or jogging in the Thuringian Forest. Fortunately, the feared weather chaos, including strong gusts of wind, did not materialize; the 25 centimetres of fresh snow had been flattened by the ski rollers during the night.

Reading and competing at the dartboard

The race-free day was also used for regeneration. "I still have 100 pages to read in my book and I want to get through that in January," said Philipp Nawrath. After his strong second place in the sprint on Saturday, the 32-year-old goes into the pursuit (12.00 noon/ARD and Eurosport) 13 seconds behind sprint winner Tommaso Giacomel. "I also have to be on the lookout for mistakes, but first and foremost I have to run my own race again," said the Allgäuer.

He and his teammates were served a mushroom risotto by chef Christian Schlösser - the number one dish on the DSV team's culinary wish list. In addition, Philipp Horn (7th) and David Zobel (12th), who also have a good starting position in the chase race, threw a few darts at the dartboard in the Oberhof military barracks.

Race not endangered despite snowfall

Due to the capricious weather forecast with wind gusts of up to 80 km/h, the organizers had postponed the women's sprint by one day to Thursday. It didn't turn out as badly as feared. Nevertheless, the decision was the right one, said race director Peter Sendel.

"If you look at the weather now, the race could have gone ahead. But we were patted on the back for a decision that wasn't easy," said Sendel. Even one day later, the 1998 Olympic relay champion is still happy with the decision. As many athletes, including some Germans, still have to qualify for the Olympic Games in four weeks' time, a cancellation would have been much worse.

In the night to Saturday it should continue to snow heavily. However, the competitions at the weekend are not at risk. "We assume that everything will go ahead," said Sendel.

Ski technicians are challenged

The women want to achieve their second team podium of the winter in the relay (14:25) four weeks before the Olympic Games. They are relying above all on good equipment from the technicians, who are now facing hard work. "The conditions are challenging," said chief technician Sebastian Hopf.