From the sickbed to the medal: Vittozzi's fantastic World Cup appearance

Lisa Vittozzi took third place in the individual over 15 kilometers and thus Italy's second medal in Oberhof, after Silver in the mixed relay, retracted. For her personally, it was not just the second precious metal, but above all a fabulous comeback.

During the race, Vittozzi constantly had a smile on her face; she seemed to really enjoy her work. Understandable, as the 28-year-old from Friuli was on course for gold for a long time. She had hit the target with 19 of 20 shots before missing the target on her last attempt. The world championship title was gone, but the medal was still within reach. On the final lap she mobilized all her strength reserves and crossed the finish line with the best time.

In the end, only two biathletes were faster than Vittozzi, and both were from Sweden. Linn Persson and Hanna Öberg completely forgot about the illness-related absence of their compatriot and overall World Cup runner-up Elvira Öberg. The older of the two Öberg sisters received a penalty minute at the shooting range, but she made up for it with an unleashed sprint on the final lap. Öberg grabbed the title ahead of the faultless Persson.

Dorothea Wierer took a top position in shooting. © ANSA / RONALD WITTEK

In addition to Vittozzi, Öberg and Persson, Italy's second star biathlete also took part, Dorothea Wierer, a long time after a medal. She made a mistake in the first prone stage, but then gritted her teeth and stayed in the virtual top group for a long time - until the last standing stage. There, the woman from Niederrasner shot three cartridges wide of the target, thereby eliminating any chance of a top placing. She ended up in 15th place. The 32-year-old now only has the final mass start race on Sunday to claim her first individual medal in Oberhof.

Comola sensationally at the forefront Wierer's position in the top field was occupied by another Azzurra this Wednesday, namely Samuela Comola, who has never been better than 20th in the World Cup. The 24-year-old from Aostan ran a sensational race, didn't make a single mistake on the shooting range and ultimately just missed out on a medal. She finished fourth in the rankings, immediately behind Vittozzi.

The two young Antholzers Hannah Auchentaller and Rebecca Passler also achieved personal success, finishing in the top 22 in 28nd and 30th place after two shooting errors each. For Auchentaller, this was also her best career result to date.

Things continue in Oberhof on Thursday (15.10:XNUMX p.m.) when the World Cup program continues with the single mixed relay.

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From the sickbed to the medal: Vittozzi's fantastic World Cup appearance

What was that legendary performance by Lisa Vittozzi? At the weekend she was still in bed with a fever and a sore throat, today she ran onto the podium at the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof. It wasn't just the competition that was amazed.

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