First of all: Franziska Preuß is as good as ever.
Photo: imago/Sven Simon
Franziska Preuß can no longer stop being amazed these days. At the final Biathlon World Cup of this year in Le Grand Bornand, France, she can start in a very special jersey: When the sprint comes on Thursday, she will take to the track in yellow and red – as the leader in the overall World Cup and in the sprint classification. She earned it in the previous races; Among other things, Preuß achieved her first victory in the World Cup in almost six years.
Less pressure, more enjoyment
»I’m happy that I can wear yellow and red. That’s something special that I didn’t think I’d be allowed to wear,” says Preuß. At the age of 30, she is currently experiencing the most successful time of her career and can really enjoy it. Like recently with the German relay, which she led as the final runner to its first victory in around four years. Before this success in Hochfilzen, she asked her three nervous teammates to soak up the great atmosphere and not think about the pressure. After the triumph, she explained that everything was much nicer than her first season victory without spectators in the Corona years in Oberhof: “It was just crazy, I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
Preuß already has four podium places and two victories to his name in this short season. The Wasserburger, who has been constantly plagued by illnesses in the past, appears more relaxed than ever after undergoing an “unpleasant” sinus operation following last season. The cause of the frequent infections seems to have been eliminated; she now feels “significantly more resilient”. »Let’s see where the journey takes us. But you can only begrudge Franzi that after all these difficult years,” says Felix Bitterling, sports director of the German Ski Association, happily.
Many talents
Preuß’ successes also have a lot to do with a completely new trait in the German team. In addition to Vanessa Voigt, who is also experienced at 27 and was already on the podium this winter, a whole guard of young talents is storming into the world’s best. In the relay victory, 19-year-old Julia Tannheimer and Selina Grotian, who was one year older, showed a rip-off performance against world-class competitors – and, like Voigt, were at the top of the World Cup for the first time. “What Julia and Selina are doing is fantastic,” enthuses Bitterling. »You have to allow the boys to be impetuous and aggressive. That’s a sensationally good attitude that is extremely infectious for many in the team.”
»We have some young girls with us. If they see that a Julia makes it, that’s a motivation to commit murder. At least that’s how it was for me when I came in,” reports Preuß. “Then such a dynamic builds up.”
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That’s exactly what’s happening in the German team at the moment. Leading figure Preuss leads the way, the “young savages” follow. In addition to Tannheimer and Grotian, these also include 20-year-old Julia Kink and Marlene Fichtner, who is one year older. The “Art Nouveau” definitely brings “a breath of fresh air into the team” and the roles are clearly assigned. Preuß and Voigt are the “mommies,” as Grotian, who took part in the World Cup relay bronze last winter, jokingly calls them. They give a lot of tips, and according to Preuss, “the trainers get the rest of the questions.”
Lioness on the trail
In the shadow of the model figure, there is healthy competition to see who could become the German biathlon high-flyer in the future. Tannheimer from Ulm is in pole position for now: after two top 6 places in the World Cup, she already has the qualification standard for the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in mid-February. “We only know Julia in attack mode,” enthuses Bitterling. “She smiles kindly with very loyal eyes, and then she becomes a lioness out there.”
Tannheimer himself finds the spectacular successes “pretty unreal.” Her rocket-like rise began on December 16, 2023, when she became the youngest individual winner in the second division of biathlon at the Ibu Cup in Norway at the age of 18 years and 137 days. This was followed by two golds and one silver at the Junior World Championships. The five-time young world champion then passed a sensational high school diploma with a grade of 1.1. The fact that Tannheimer was “devastated” because she missed the dream final grade of 1.0 in the oral exam speaks for her ambition.
The fact that many people already see her as a possible successor to legends like Magdalena Neuner or Laura Dahlmeier makes Tannheimer rather embarrassed. “I can’t see myself with both of them, my head can’t handle it,” she said in the “Extrarunde” podcast. »I’m not that interested, I’m happy with the results. Records aren’t that important at my age either.” “Mommy” Franziska Preuß is currently responsible for that.
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