Biathlon: Vittozzi and Wierer disappointed — Wierer: "My worst race of the season"

Anterselva (Bolzano) — Rose petals for the athletes, after all it was Valentine’s Day, but there were strained smiles and visible disappointment in the Italian camp. Lisa Vittozzi finished fifth, 40.8 seconds behind winner Maren Kirkeeide, and is well placed for Sunday’s pursuit (start order and gaps will be determined by today’s result). Vittozzi hit all 10 targets but faded on the skis toward the end: “I gave everything but it wasn’t enough for a medal. I’m satisfied because I couldn’t have done more; after the first range I was already 15" down, which is a bit strange. We’ll see what went wrong, but fifth is not to be thrown away. In the individual I hadn’t been in the race, today I tried to have fun. I focused on myself, I did my best and I’m confident for tomorrow. The snow was difficult for everyone, probably it wasn’t my day, but I felt good — simply the others were better. Tomorrow, with a good shooting performance, we can do well.”

Dorothea Wierer disappointed

After silver in the mixed relay and fifth in the individual, Dorothea Wierer finished 44th in the sprint with three shooting errors and a deficit of 2’12"9. On social media she apologised to the fans for “my worst race of the season”. In comments to reporters she added: “I missed the first prone shot — it rarely happens — and then I lost rhythm. I haven’t yet recovered from the race the other day when I gave 150%. I’m short of energy. The pursuit will be useful to try to do better at the range. The important thing is to recover well for next week.”

Michela Carrara was 23rd, 1’33"5 behind, losing time with two mistakes at the second shooting: “The result isn’t bad, better than the individual; I was lucky to have Kirkeeide on the last lap who helped me close well. Keeping up with her gives me confidence.” Hannah Auchentaller, 43rd at 2’11"6, said: “Two mistakes with the level that was out there are too many, there are no excuses. I didn’t feel brilliant but I can’t complain about the skis.”

Passler case

Rebecca Passler will return to the team on Monday after the lifting of her doping suspension and could possibly take part only in the relay, but the technical staff chief Klaus Hoellrigl will decide whether to include her. Wierer said she is ready to welcome Passler: “We’re looking forward to it because, poor girl, it has been really tough days for her. We never doubted her, but it’s not nice when certain things are written about an athlete. She may have trained little because it has not been easy psychologically. We’ll wait and see because the choice isn’t ours but the coaches’.”

Vittozzi was blunt when asked about Passler: “I have nothing to say.” The article notes that putting Passler into the relay is not only a technical question — she had not been a first choice (the four regular starters had already collected two World Cup podiums this season) and she was out of the group for two weeks — but could also carry legal risk if the anti‑doping prosecutor later sought to refer the case and a sanction were imposed. That could affect results depending on the timing of any judgment. For now, though, the focus for Italy is on performance and recovery ahead of the pursuit and next week’s races.