The annual show competition at the German city's football arena, normally home ground for the Bundesliga team Schalke 04, has nothing to do with the World Cup. But has still become a appreciated feature in the biathlon circus in recent years.
A Swedish team started in the mixed competition and Anna Magnusson and Jesper Nelin finished fifth.
Sweden finished sixth in the initial mass start, which determined the starting order for the decisive pursuit. But Magnusson/Nelin seriously mixed into the fight for podium positions thanks to, above all, fine shooting (three misses in total).
Before the final shooting, Nelin was close to all except the superior winner Norway, but a miss there ruined the Swedish chances.
Sweden was ultimately only three seconds from third place, but never really had a grip on the leaders.
The Norwegian team, Karoline Offigstad Knotten and Sturla Holm Laegreid, won convincingly after a brilliant performance on the shooting range, only one miss on eight shots. Germany 2 (Anna Wiedel/Justus Strelow) became second and Germany 1 (Franziska Preuss/Philipp Nawrath) became third.
