Franziska Preuss led Germany to victory in Hochfilzen – the first German in the relay in four years – when Lou Jeanmonnot shot herself out of contention. The big favorite France had to settle for second place.
Sweden started the season by winning in Kontiolahti – then with Hanna Öberg and Sara Andersson who did not get a place in the team now. Instead, head coach Johannes Lukas gave debutants Anna-Karin Heijdenberg and Ella Halvarsson a chance in the World Cup relay.
When Anna Magnusson sent out Heijdenberg as fifth after the first leg, Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet had a lead of over 20 seconds.
"Improved my performance"
The first two shots in prone were not good, but I improved my performance. I had to work hard to close the gap. Overall, still a decent leg, says Magnusson to SVT.
Heijdenberg did not mess it up, hit all the shots and suddenly Sweden was in contact.
But it swings quickly.
A near-disaster was waiting. Four missed standing shots meant a penalty round, dropped to seventh place, and nearly a minute up to the lead.
I had very cold fingers and didn't feel the trigger, but naturally, I should handle it better, says Heijdenberg to SVT.
Halvarsson shot full
With numb legs, Heijdenberg came in as eighth, 1.18 minutes behind.
Ella Halvarsson, the winter's star shot, takes an untroubled attitude to what she's doing.
I'm not going to do anything special, just a normal race, she said before her relay debut.
Whereupon she hit ten out of ten shots.
She's a really cool girl, says the national team's shooting coach Jean-Marc Chabloz.
I shoot full and it means a lot, says Halvarsson.
The skiing was not as sharp. Halvarsson lost ground in the tough tracks. Elvira Öberg hastened out on the final leg as fifth, 1.33,8 minutes behind France. She did her job and Sweden reached a top 3 finish again.
We don't make a perfect relay, but we're still on the podium with two debutants. It shows what breadth we have, says Öberg to SVT.
