Dorothea Wierer showed a good race with a flaw. © Pierre TEYSSOT / Pierre TEYSSOT

The podium is approaching: Wierer is knocking on the top again

The World Cup weekend in Hochfilzen (North Tyrol) opened on Friday afternoon with the women's sprint. Dorothea Wierer once again showed a strong race, but with one catch. Another South Tyrolean had reason to celebrate.

13 December 2024

From: det

The biathlon season is only a few races old, but it is already clear: the South Tyroleans have done a great job in preparation. Dorothea Wierer took home her next top 10 finish in the Hochfilzen sprint on Friday, finishing ninth, while Hannah Auchentaller underlined her good form and celebrated the best World Cup result of her career with 12th place.

A podium finish has not yet been achieved in this still young season, but it seems to be only a matter of time, especially for Dorothea Wierer. The Niederrasner woman finished in the top eleven for the third time in just a few days on Friday.

Two mistakes cost the possible victory

In Hochfilzen, Wierer was clearly on course for a podium finish until the final standing shooting, in second place, just a hair's breadth behind the leaders. However, the 2-year-old then made two mistakes that forced her to do extra laps. Without these tickets, she would have even been in with a chance of winning. On Sunday in Kontiolahti, Wierer had already missed out on a podium finish with a mistake in the last shooting. Nevertheless, the feeling and form of the two-time overall World Cup winner finally seem to be back on track.

Hannah Auchentaller achieved her best World Cup result. © Pierre TEYSSOT / Pierre TEYSSOT

Hannah Auchentaller also had reason to celebrate on Friday. The Antholz native had already shown her good early form in Finland, and now she had the best race of her career in Hochfilzen. Without any mistakes and with a solid running performance, the 23-year-old finished in 12th place, improving her previous best result (14th place). Auchentaller - just like Wierer - will start the race in the pursuit on Saturday (12.15 p.m.) from an excellent position.

Preuß wins after six years

The victory on Friday went to the German Franziska Preuß. And that is a very special thing. Preuß has been one of the world's best biathlon athletes for years, but the victory in Hochfilzen was only the second of her career. Six years after her triumph in Ruhpolding, "Franzi" was able to shine from the top step of the podium again. The Frenchwoman Sophie Chauveau (+7,7 seconds) and the Norwegian Karoline Offigstad Knotten (+10,1 seconds) completed the podium.

There is another biathlon race on Friday: the men will compete in their sprint starting at 14.20:XNUMX p.m.