Biathlon : after winning the crystal globe last winter, Franziska Preuss could have ended her career

Biathlon: Franziska Preuss asked herself some questions before setting off again for a new season

Last winter, at the end of March, Franziska Preuss and Lou Jeanmonnot treated the biathlon world to a breathtaking display of World Cup fireworks. In Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway), the German and the Frenchwoman battled it out for the crystal globe until the last race of the season.

And although the biathlete from the other side of the Rhine emerged victorious from this duel, that didn’t stop her from asking herself questions about her future in the discipline. As early as last winter, I was wondering whether I should retire,” she tells the Extrarunde podcast. For me, the overall World Cup ranking was the greatest achievement of my career.

However, after several weeks of deep reflection, the Bavarian decided to embark on a new preparation in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina (Italy). A competition in which she has never won an individual medal after three participations: “I have a score to settle with the Olympic Games. If everything gets back on track between now and Antholz, it will be a great way for me to come full circle”, she asserts.

But before returning to training in May, Franziska Preuss was keen to take a well-deserved holiday away from the media spotlight. “In Thailand, we were tourists like everyone else. Biathlon was far away and nobody asked me about it,” she says. It was really good because I don’t really like being the centre of attention.

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