What's behind biathlon star Franziska Preuß' touching gesture to this man
Annecy (France) - One day after the first race of the season, Germany's biathlon star Franziska Preuß (30) fell ill, and many feared that the Bavarian's health odyssey would restart. But she recovered quickly and since then has surprisingly been the measure of all things in the World Cup.
On Saturday, she secured victory in the pursuit race in Annecy in front of a strong French home crowd.
After her triumph, there was an enchanting gesture in the finish area. Preuß had not only mastered the four shooting stages brilliantly with a single mistake, but was also very strong on the course.
She knew who she had to thank for this to a large extent. The German team is running with "rockets" under their feet this season, and the technicians have found the right wax at three World Cup venues so far.
Preuß therefore grabbed her yellow jersey as World Cup leader and put it on chief technician Sebastian Hopf (39).
"Giving the yellow jersey to those who make it possible," the federation wrote under the video on Instagram. "We have generally strengthened ourselves and so you can generally create new stimuli through different people in the system," explained Hopf in an ARD Sportschau report.
Biathlon: Saxony's Danilo Müller returns to the German team after 20 years
After the technical disgrace at the World Championships in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, when the German team's skis didn't work at all in the wet snow, the federation pulled off a coup.
After 20 years, Danilo Müller (52) from Oybin returned to the DSV team, a man who is known for his expertise in wet snow. The Saxon worked abroad for 15 years and made the Belarusian Olympic champion Darja Domratschewa (38) and the two-time world champion Gabriela Soukalová (35) from the Czech Republic extremely strong on the boards.
The Saxon actually wanted to quit for the sake of his family with two children and ran a food truck in the meantime. But he himself has to laugh when he says that biathlon is simply his passion.
"We simply wanted to strengthen ourselves in different areas, and we have now been able to bring two people on board who have a different perspective, which has allowed us to broaden our wealth of experience and put the focus in one direction," explains Hopf.
Danilo Müller even got his truck driver's license to return to the DSV team
Müller emphasizes how well the team works together, and the Saxon even got his truck driver's license for his return to the German camp so that he can drive the wax truck himself.
Philipp Horn (30), who finished fourth in the sprint in the constant rain, is also delighted: "It seems that our technical team has done a lot of things right this summer, because we have not only caught up with the other nations, but also overtaken them in terms of wet skis."
If things continue like this, the DSV biathlon is in for a great season.