Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka: Arnd Peiffer only twelfth in the mass start

Biathlete Arnd Peiffer finished twelfth in the mass start at the end of the World Championships in Pokljuka.  The  33-year-old Olympic champion took three penalties on Sunday and was 1: 09.2 minutes behind the new world champion Sturla Holm Laegreid after 15 kilometers. One day after his 24th birthday, the Norwegian relegated his teammate Johannes Dale (2 errors / + 10.2 seconds) and the French Quentin Fillon Maillet (2 / + 12.8) to the other medal ranks with a mistake. With his fourth gold, Laegreid is the best ski hunter of the World Championships.

 The  30-year-old Benedikt Doll had to be satisfied with the disappointing 23rd place after six mistakes. But the co-favorites Johannes Thingnes Bø from Norway and Émilien Jacquelin from France could not be satisfied either: Bø was only eighth, Jacquelin quasi gave up after five shooting errors and only finished the last lap under the encouragement of supervisors and coaches. His gap to Laegreid was over seven minutes.

After two faultless prone positions, Peiffer fell back through a penalty loop after the first standing stage and then made two more mistakes in the final attack. For Doll, the race was over early after three penalty loops after the first shooting.

“You invest so much and then so little comes around. I can be sad for a few days now, “said Doll afterwards.

German team finished World Cup with just two medals

“We certainly didn’t get what we wanted to. At the world championship, the expectation is suddenly that you should win a medal in every race. Of course you want that. But if you’ve only been on the podium three times in the season, you can’t assume that we’ll be on the podium in every race here, «said national coach Mark Kirchner on ZDF. “We won an individual medal among the men, that was the goal.

 The  women succeeded in the team competitions, but not in the other three, ”he continued. It didn’t all work out, but he couldn’t speak of a disappointment.

 The  German team finished the World Cup after silver by Peiffer and the women’s relay with only two medals. On Saturday, after starting runner Erik Lesser’s performance slump in the men’s relay, it was only enough for seventh place.

 The  team thus missed the target of four to five badges.

 The  last time there were only two German medals at the World Cup in Nove Mesto in 2013. Erik Lesser, Roman Rees and Johannes Kühn had missed the qualification for the mass start of the 30 best athletes.