For Vanessa Voigt, the biathlon home game in Oberhof ended prematurely for health reasons.
“Unfortunately, it seems that the illness hit her much harder over the holidays,” said DSV sports director Felix Bitterling just a few hours before the women’s pursuit on the Rennsteig (from 12.30 p.m. in the LIVETICKER): “That’s why we’re together “We agreed with her trainers, the medical management and of course with Vanessa herself that she would no longer compete in Oberhof.”
Voigt had already suspended the mass start in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand before the Christmas break, and she also refrained from starting the traditional World Team Challenge at Schalke shortly before the turn of the year.
In the Oberhof sprint on Thursday, the Thuringian only took 68th place.
“Anyone who saw the sprint could see that she was certainly not in full possession of her strength,” Bitterling said.
Of course, this decision was “bitter,” the sports director continued: “But this is simply about not jeopardizing the rest of the season, especially the World Championships.”
This means Voigt will also miss the single mixed relay (12.20 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) in the Thuringian Forest on Sunday. At the beginning of the winter she achieved a podium finish in Kontiolahti together with Justus Strelow.
At the end of the weekend there will also be a mixed relay (2.30 p.m./all ZDF and Eurosport).
The 27-year-old will now do a “compact training block,” said Bitterling. It will then be decided whether she can take part in the World Cup in Ruhpolding.
The women’s individual race over 15 kilometers starts there on Thursday (2.10 p.m./ARD and Eurosport).
