Winter sports - Biathlon bet: Naked to the container
With his second place in the sprint race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Norway's biathlon star Johannes Thingnes Bö saved German coach Uros Velepec from having to make a "special" bet. If the German athletes had achieved a triple success, Velepec would have had to run naked to the security container.
"I didn't really want to talk about this bet. But thanks to Johannes, it wasn't necessary. I can do it next time though," said the Slovenian in an interview on ZDF after Benedikt Doll's victory and Philipp Nawrath's third place. Teammate Philipp Horn finished fourth and just missed out on the podium at his season debut.
"It's really important that we're here and can fight with the Norwegians. That was the case in Östersund, then we weren't close in Hochfilzen, but here it's different again," said Velepec. "Self-confidence is the most important thing and now the whole team has self-confidence - including us coaches."
Doll finished the sprint with a lead of 5.4 seconds over Bö, who is likely to exert direct pressure in the pursuit race on Saturday (14:40/ZDF). Nawrath starts 37 seconds behind the 33-year-old from the Black Forest and Horn two seconds later. He will start the race at the same time as Sturla Holm Laegreid - another Norwegian.
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- Despite the close result, Norway's Johannes Thingnes Bö prevented coach Uros Velepec from fulfilling a peculiar bet after Germany's Biathlon athletes didn't manage a triple success in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
- In an interview on ZDF after Benedikt Doll's victory and Philipp Nawrath's third place, Velepec acknowledged that he wouldn't have minded discussing the bet, but thanked Bö for saving him the ordeal.
- If German athletes had achieved a clean sweep in the Sprint race, Velepec would have had to bare all and run naked to the security container, as per a previous agreement.
- Despite their close competition with the Norwegians, German Biathlon team is gaining confidence under Velepec's guidance, with even the coaches feeling more self-assured.
- With Doll maintaining a significant lead of 5.4 seconds over Bö, the Sprint race winner will likely put direct pressure on his Norwegian rival in the pursuit race on Saturday (14:40/ZDF).
- Norwegian Sturla Holm Laegreid will start the race at the same time as Doll, adding an extra layer of challenge for Bö and the rest of the team.
- While it's a competition between nations, the Winter sports scene, including Biathlon, remains an exciting and unpredictable prospect for viewers and fans worldwide, especially when teams like Norway and Germany clash on the global stage like the World Cup.
Source: www.stern.de
