Olympia 2018: Mixed Relay: Schempp has to fit because of a sore throat

The German Mixed Relay Team has to give up the mass start runner-up Simon Schempp (Uhingen) in the Olympic race on Tuesday (12.15 a. m. CET). The 29-year-old complained of a sore throat and is therefore replaced by sprint Olympic champion Arnd Peiffer (Clausthal-Zellerfeld). This was announced by the DSV on Tuesday.

Vanessa Hinz (Schliersee), double Olympic gold medallist Laura Dahlmeier (Partenkirchen) and Erik Lesser (Frankenhain) enter the cross-country ski trail ahead of Peiffer, who is scheduled to finish the race.

Together with Norway, the German team is the top favourite for the Olympic victory over 2×6 and 2×7.5 km. The extended circle of medal aspirants also includes France with its double Olympic gold medalist Martin Fourcade, who in Pyeongchang is surprisingly strong Sweden and Italy.

Schempp had only missed the gold medal in Sunday’s mass start by 14 centimetres, and on Monday evening he received his plaque. Dahlmeier’s deployment was also open at first, and DSV only announced its start on Tuesday.

We wanted to give Laura the opportunity to see if she could run the squadron in full possession of her forces by the end of the reporting period,”said women’s coach Gerald Hönig:” We had a plan B.”We had a plan B,” said Gerald Hönig. But a squadron without Laura would only have come into question if it had signalled that it couldn’t.”

If Dahlmeier were to win with the German quartet, she would have won three gold and one bronze medals, making her the most successful German winter Olympic athlete in an Olympic edition.

She would also be the first biathlete to win four medals in one event. Dahlmeier had won gold in sprint and pursuit as well as bronze in the singles.