Not all top nations are at the start, but the summer world championships in biathlon are well-known. Olympic champion Denise Herrmann is satisfied with silver in the mass start, and the men also win a medal at the end.
Denise Herrmann and Roman Rees won silver in the mass start at the end of the Summer World Championships for biathletes in Ruhpolding. The individual Olympic champion was only beaten by the Italian Dorothea Wierer on roller skis. A little later, in wet track conditions, Rees went into the final lap with a lead of almost nine seconds, but Swede Sebastian Samuelsson caught him on the home straight and won by a margin of 2.9 seconds.
"After the last two days, it wasn't really to be expected that I'd make a podium. In the end I couldn't hold back, but I'm super happy with second place," said 29-year-old Rees to ZDF. Third was the Swede Martin Ponsiluoma. The best German in the sprint on Saturday was Lucas Fratzscher in fifth. Samuelsson also won the sprint on Saturday and took silver in the super sprint behind Philipp Horn on Friday. The German team ended the title fights with one gold and two silver medals.
Herrmann was on his way to gold in the Chiemgau Arena, but missed a shot in the fourth and final shooting. It was Herrmann's only mistake, but Wierer, who was flawless this time (1 overall), and who was also successful in the super sprint, passed the Saxon on the final lap and ended up 9.4 seconds ahead. Marketa Davidova from the Czech Republic took bronze. Wierer's compatriot Lisa Vittozzi triumphed in the sprint on Saturday, in which Herrmann finished sixth.
"I was able to implement my focus points well," said Herrmann: "It was a bit looser, especially when shooting. A mistake, that's bearable. But overall I'm completely satisfied." Only Vanessa Voigt in 18th made it into the top 20.
The Summer World Championships are not of great sporting value, even if Ruhpolding had the largest starting field ever. The races serve more as a performance check and are contested during full training. In recent years, the Germans, like almost all other top nations, have skipped this event, and Bavaria was also missing Norway and France, among others.
