Not only Franziska Preuss – the French press also suffers with Lou JeanMonnot, who fell on the final round and lost the overall World Cup dramatically.
What a drama! In the last race of the season, Franziska Preuss secured the overall biathlon World Cup, as competitor Lou JeanMonnot fell unhappily on the final round. Not only Prussia felt with the defeated French woman in the finish area – the French press also struggled with the bitter course for JeanMonnot.
“It was an incredible fight. You couldn’t have imagined a worse scenario. When it ran out on a sprint, the French woman fell in the penultimate curve,” wrote Eurosport France . Le Figaro headed: “Sport can be so cruel.”
Franziska Preuss and Lou JeanMonnot exchanged for minutes in the target area
The renowned sports newspaper L’équipe spoke of a “dream that bursts. After 21 races on the last few meters, everything decided on the skis.” The race will “of course go down in the annals of biathlon sports”.
Biathlon: dramatic scenes in the target area
The emotional moments after the finish line were also considered in the press.
The French portal Sports wrote: “This picture was breathtaking: Lou JeanMonnot was behind the finish line, comforted by her teammates, but also by Franziska Preuss, the winner of the 2025 biathlon World Cup, who almost ashamed in view of the cruel finish for her French rival.”
In the international press, the echo was no less intensive. “Sick drama when deciding on overall victory,” wrote the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet .
“The dramaturgy of the showdown wanted it”
“The dramaturgy of the showdown wanted it that the opponents went to the final round at the same time at the same time from the last shooting,” summarized the Kronen Zeitung from Austria.
After the finish line at the mass start at the Holmenkollen, Preuss initially had no big cheering gods, but a compassionate look back to the competitor Lou JeanMonnot. The German biathlete was celebrated for her gesture by commentators and experts alike.