Vanessa Voigt and Janina Hettich-Walz are affected by stomach problems at the Winter Olympics. Voigt gives a slight all-clear upon SPORT1 ‘s inquiry.
It’s not yet the Winter Olympics for the German biathlon women, at least as far as the individual competitions are concerned. Besides the strong competition, the DSV ski huntresses also have to deal with two cases of illness.
Janina Hettich-Walz missed the sprint competition due to stomach problems – Vanessa Voigt also had complaints. The 28-year-old had to spend two days in her room after her fourth place in the individual race and only decided to start in the sprint at short notice.
Vanessa Voigt struggled with stomach problems
Voigt talks about symptoms: “I feel rumbling in my stomach”
After her twelfth place in the sprint, Voigt gave a slight all-clear. “I’m doing as well as can be expected. I sometimes feel a bit of rumbling in my stomach,” she described when asked by SPORT1 .
“I’ve actually been hungry the whole time because I haven’t been able to eat much in the last 48 hours,” she continued. Before the pursuit, where Voigt expects a lot as a good shooter, she first wants to eat “something light.”
Bitterling expresses clear suspicion
From the German team’s perspective, it’s positive that no further symptoms have appeared after the problems with Voigt and Hettich-Walz. According to Sports Director Felix Bitterling, there’s likely no virus circulating either. Rather, the athletes probably ate something wrong, which led to the stomach problems.
“It’s okay so far. We assume, because it was the same in the Czech team, that we simply ate something wrong,” Bitterling said in a media round: “The Czech and German cuisine is the same, so it’s likely that both consumed something that didn’t have an ideal effect on their stomachs.”
Ultimately, it was a “one-night” problem. However, Hettich-Walz was affected 24 hours later than Voigt, which is why it “wasn’t enough” for her to compete in the sprint.
German team takes measures: “Have separated”
The German team immediately took measures after the symptoms in Hettich-Walz and Voigt. “We separated them a bit and had everything cleaned and disinfected. Currently, it looks stable. None of the supervisors or other athletes have symptoms,” Bitterling clarified.
The German athletes also confirmed this after the sprint race. “Yes, everything is stable with me. I went into a single room to protect myself,” Franziska Preuß explained when asked by SPORT1 . After the six German athletes had previously shared an apartment, they have now “divided up again.”
Selina Grotian and Julia Tannheimer also confirm feeling fit and healthy.