Two Germans get the large crystal ball and crown their strong season.
The German para biathletes dominated at the World Cup final in the Swedish Torsby and fueled hopes for the Paralympics in the coming year. Leonie Walter and Anja Wicker secured the overall ranking in their classes.
Wicker won the large crystal ball by winning the sprint tracking of the seated class in front of her rival Kendall Gretsch (USA). The Paralympic winner saved 2.04 seconds in the last season race. The 33-year-old won the overall ranking for the fifth time and crowned her strong year. At the World Cup she had last shone with seven medals. “It was an outstanding season for me,” said Wicker.
For women with visual impairment, there were victories by Walter (with guide Christian Krasman), Johanna Recktenwald (Emily Weiß) and Linn Kazmaier (Florian Baumann) at the end of the season. “We couldn’t have wished that nicer,” said co-national coach Rolf Nuber.
It was an encouragement, especially for top talent Kazmaier, who had not trained for a long time in the season preparation and had left many competitions during the winter. “Starting with a victory gives me a lot of confidence,” said the 18-year-old, looking at the 2026 Paralympics in Milan/Cortina.
Walter even finished the season with the double: the 21-year-old had previously secured the crystal ball in para cross-country skiing. “It’s crazy. It was a very nice season, so it can go on, ”said Walter. The German biathlon men went second in the overall ranking of the standing class to Marco Maier.