Drama at the shooting range: Wierer and Hofer lose medals

The sport of biathlon can be so fascinating and so cruel at the same time! The second adjective in this sentence describes exactly what Dorothea Wierer and Lukas Hofer had to experience on Thursday afternoon on the Pokljuka plateau in Slovenia. For over half an hour, the two Pusterers ran towards a medal in the single mixed competition, towards the end it even seemed like they would win the gold medal - but then Wierer's last shot at the standing position threw everything overboard. In the end only 5th place was possible. “I thought he was inside. But suddenly there was an error.” Dorothea Wierer One by one: Hofer and Wierer put on an outstanding performance for a long time in the spectacular team competition. The Montaler missed the target a total of three times, but he avoided a penalty loop and accelerated hard on the cross-country ski trail. The 3-year-old overall World Cup winner from last season even hit every shot on target and brought Italy into the lead at the last shooting stage. There, of all things, the engine stalled with the last shot. “I thought he was inside. “But suddenly there was an error,” Wierer described afterwards. “After that, my rivals moved away. I felt the huge pressure and then completely lost track of things.” Wierer missed no fewer than four shots, had to go into the penalty loop and let the gold medal slip out of his hands. Comforting words from Hofer While the competitors, who had all been left behind until then, fought for the podium places among themselves, Wierer crossed the finish line in fifth place. However, Hofer still had words of comfort for his teammate. “You win together and you lose together. I have to be honest: I would have bet everything on Doro before the last shooting, but that's just how biathlon is. That can happen to anyone,” said Hofer in the TV interview.

Antonin Guigonnat and Julia Simon were the shining winners in the end. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

The main beneficiaries of Wierer's blackout were Julia Simon and Antonin Guigonnat from France, who were crowned the new world champions. Simon left behind the Norwegian Tiril Eckhoff, who started together with Johannes Thingnes Bø, who was prone to errors today. Bronze went to the Swedish duo Hanna Öberg and Sebastian Samuelsson.

Italy's biathletes, on the other hand, have to wait for their first precious metal after the 8th World Cup competition. After a rest day on Friday, there are four more chances for a podium finish with the relays on Saturday and the mass starts on Sunday. The result in detail:

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Drama at the shooting range: Wierer and Hofer lose medals

How often has Dorothea Wierer caused admiration at the shooting range in her inimitable way? But now of all times, with the world championship title in sight, the exceptional talent from Rasen lost her nerves. She and Lukas Hofer came away empty-handed after a tragic last shooting.

Suggestions

Comments (0)