Rees and Strelow drop out of German biathlon relay team
The German biathletes will have to do without Roman Rees and Justus Strelow in the first relay race of the new World Cup season at short notice.
As the German Ski Association announced a good three hours before the start (3.20 pm/ZDF and Eurosport) in Östersund, Sweden, both athletes are not fit for the 4 x 7.5 kilometer competition. "Justus and Roman have developed symptoms of an infection, which we are currently treating intensively," said team doctor Jan Wüstenfeld: "Unfortunately, they are out of the question for today's relay race so as not to jeopardize the following competitions."
Zobel and Kühn move up
David Zobel will replace Strelow at the start and Johannes Kühn will be called up by national coach Uros Velepec to replace Rees at the end.
The 30-year-old Rees had surprisingly won the first individual race of the winter on Sunday ahead of Strelow and thus became the first German in almost 15 years to secure the yellow jersey of the overall World Cup leader. The man from Baden-Württemberg is likely to wear it for the first time in the sprint on Saturday. Whether Rees and Strelow will be able to compete in this race remains to be seen.
For the German team, these are already the second and third retirements in Östersund. Sophia Schneider was also unable to compete in the women's relay because she was complaining of a sore throat and symptoms of an infection. The team had finished third behind Norway and Sweden on Wednesday.
Despite Roman Rees and Justus Strelow's impressive performances in the recent biathlon season, their absence due to health issues poses a challenge for the German team during the World Cup relay. Replacing Strelow will be David Zobel, while Johannes Kühn steps in for Rees, as announced by national coach Uros Velepec.
Source: www.dpa.com
