The 37-year-old took an excellent fifth place, 12.5 seconds behind.
David Komatz, on the other hand, had to be content with 28th place in the field of 30s. After Lisa Hauser’s three podium places, Austria’s men could now also look forward to their first podium place this winter. It was also a significant improvement over the last few races. In the sprint, Leitner was 19th as the best, the relay ended in 15th place after a catastrophic performance at the shooting range.
Tarjei Bö wins in Oberhof
Felix Leitner made it onto the podium for the first time in his career at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof, Germany, finishing second in the mass start race on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Tyrolean stayed clear and only had to admit defeat to the Norwegian Tarjei Bö.
“I worked consistently and cleanly”
“What can I say – incredible.
The first lap was easy, so I could easily keep up. I didn’t have any major problems keeping up with the pace on the second and third laps. I worked very consistently and cleanly at the shooting range today. With four times zero I’m overjoyed, “said Leitner, describing his race.
“I kept getting further and further forward, and more and more athletes broke away with mistakes. In the end, I ran with Benjamin Weger and Simon and really wanted to leave until Tarjei came.
The n there was only more full throttle. I am overjoyed that I finished second, I never would have expected that. Two days after that bad season, Simon and I hit it all. It can go that fast, it’s madness. “
Gust with the strongest finish
After three shooting series, the leading group had decimated to six active players, including the two Austrians, who also kept their nerves in the final standing attack. It was different to Bö, who had to go into the penalty loop with a miss but could rely on his running qualities in the finish. In this, the almost 38-year-old Eder had no chance against the much younger competition and was ultimately swallowed by Lukas Hofer.
Nevertheless, Eder was satisfied: “Today I think we surprised ourselves. After our appearances in the last five races, we couldn’t have expected that we would achieve a podium and a top five place today. But races like that taste best, and of course that gives us a huge boost for the rest of the season. “
Hauser missed top spot after falling
With a little carelessness in the finish, Lisa Hauser took the fourth World Cup podium in a row.
The 27-year-old, recently third three times, held up excellently over the 12.5 kilometers and, as a member of a group of six, had the podium after the last shooting despite a total of three failed attempts.
In third place behind the French Julia Simon and the German Franziska Preuß, however, she fell in a descent, had to let several runners pass and finally fell back to twelfth place, 33.4 seconds behind the winner Simon. Preuss finally came second, the Swede Hanna Öberg third.
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Biathlon Leitner narrowly missed victory Oberhof
