Anna Weidel is the positive surprise in the German biathlon team. The DSV star has a difficult time behind her, which almost led to her retirement. Before the Olympics, she is now stronger than ever.
Can she become the big German surprise this winter, overshadowed by the big names? When it comes to German medal hopes in biathlon for the Olympic Games, most people talk about Franziska Preuß, Selina Grotian, or Vanessa Voigt.
But Anna Weidel has quietly and secretly developed into a reliable force in the German team this winter. While it wasn’t enough for the podium yet, the 29-year-old has already made it into the top 10 three times – only Voigt has managed that in the German team as well.
Anna Weidel is a great hope in the German biathlon team
Generally, Weidel is characterized by its consistency and reliability this season. This makes her an extremely important athlete for the Olympics, especially for the German women’s relay team. While she was considered more of an outsider candidate before the season, she now seems almost set for the Games in Italy.
She has especially managed to control her downward slips. In the overall World Cup, she is the second-best German with 167 points and rank 17, just behind Voigt. She should easily break her personal best of 224 points from the 2022/23 season if things continue this way.
Biathlon: Weidel Already Thought About Quitting
A closer look at these statistics shows that Weidel had little to smile about in recent years. In the 2023/24 season, she only competed twice in the World Cup and couldn’t score a single point, while last season was only marginally better with a total of 38 points.
Injuries and illnesses repeatedly sidelined Weidel. A circumstance that even led her to seriously consider ending her career.
“If the Olympics weren’t coming up now, I would have relatively certainly already quit. That’s why I put everything into it one more time,” Weidel explained on the sidelines of the Loop One Festival in Munich before the start of the season, in response to a SPORT1 inquiry.
Currently, that looks like the perfect decision. Weidel is presenting herself stronger than ever and can thus likely settle an old score with the Olympic Games.
Weidel Battled Hate on the Internet
Because in 2022, Weidel was nominated by the DSV for the Olympics but did not compete in any race. But the Games were not just a sporting disappointment; the event also took a mental toll on her.
Around her nomination, there were major discussions and a subsequent hate campaign on the internet. “I received many nasty messages from some people. That was a brutal mental challenge,” Weidel revealed almost two years ago in the biathlon podcast “Extrarunde.”
The controversy surrounding the athlete from WSV Kiefersfelden arose because she had been given preference over Franziska Hildebrand. While Weidel had achieved half the Olympic norm (a place in the top 15), Hildebrand had been in better form at the time of the nomination.
“I Even Thought About Whether I Should Go At All”
Many people took their anger over the controversial decision out on Weidel.
“I ignored most of it; I didn’t have to justify myself. The decision was made by the DOSB, not by me. I even wondered whether I should go at all. But it’s the Olympics, and I didn’t know if I would experience it again,” Weidel shared, providing insight into her emotional state at the time.
She had spent many hours on the phone with her mother and cried a lot. “Then, nothing went well at the races in Antholz ( World Cup station before the 2022 Olympics, editor’s note ), and I had to justify myself in front of the camera. I was glad when it was over,” Weidel continued.
Quick Shooting for an Olympic Medal?
Afterward, she also fell into a long sporting slump, from which she has now, coincidentally, emerged again in this very special Olympic winter.
Now, the native Austrian, who holds both citizenships but has always competed for Germany in the World Cup, wants to compete for medals at the Olympics.
Weidel will particularly rely on her fast and successful shooting. The 29-year-old is one of the absolute fastest shooters in the World Cup and often only needs between 20 and 25 seconds from the first to the last shot.
This ability earns her a special honor on the homepage of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). She received so-called badges in the “fast shooter” category generally and specifically in standing shooting.
Only two other female athletes can also boast this distinction in both categories – overall World Cup runner-up Maren Kirkeeide and former overall World Cup winner Lisa Vittozzi.
Weidel Also Improves in Running
This season, Weidel has also primarily improved her hit rate in prone shooting – but even if her shooting stands out more, her development in running is probably the biggest reason for her improvement.
Previously, she was always considered a rather weak runner at the World Cup level, losing a lot of time on the track. However, this season, Weidel has improved to the midfield in this sub-discipline, which, combined with her fast shooting, gives her the opportunity to contend for top positions.
So, the overall package is finally right, and should she maintain this form, an Olympic ticket for Weidel can hardly be controversially discussed this time.