Amy Baserga, Lena Häcki-Gross, Sebastian Stalder and Niklas Hartweg run the mixed relay at the start of the World Championships in Lenzerheide on Wednesday.
10.02.2025, 18:26
10.02.2025, 18:27
SDA
Only Stalder's nomination was on shaky ground. The man from the Zurich Oberland has not yet found his top form this winter, while 28-year-old Joscha Burkhalter from Bern is having the best season of his career so far. In the interim World Cup rankings, the two are practically tied in 35th and 37th place.
According to head coach Sandra Flunger, Stalder's exceptional skills in the shooting range were the main reason for his success. In addition, Burkhalter caught a cold in the preparation block for the World Championships and was unable to take part in all the sessions. Burkhalter, who, like Franjo von Allmen, comes from Simmental and has known the downhill world champion since a week of training together on his mountain bike in Tuscany in 2018, accepted the decision: "I'm proud that I was able to offer myself as an alternative," he said.
A year ago in Nove Mesto, the Swiss mixed relay team with the same line-up as now in Lenzerheide missed out on the bronze medal by just 1.2 seconds after a very strong performance. The starting position for 2025 remains unchanged: Not only will another perfect performance be required for a medal, but one of the major biathlon nations France, Norway or Sweden will have to slip up. Then countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Italy and a few more can inherit the title.
