The winning teams of the Biathlon World Team Challenge 2024 have taken the strong performances they showed in the VELTINS Arena before the turn of the year into the second third of the World Cup season. Around six weeks after the WTC and shortly before the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), it's time to take stock.
Team Norway - Karoline Offigstad Knotten & Sturla Holm Laegreid
The two Norwegians left no doubt about their qualities in Schalke and laid the foundations for their victories in the mass start and pursuit, particularly at the shooting range. But Laegreid is not only the outstanding man at Schalke: the 26-year-old is the dominant player of the current winter and leads the overall World Cup as well as the discipline rankings in sprint, pursuit and mass start. Laegreid has regularly finished on the podium at the three World Cup events in Oberhof, Ruhpolding and Antholz. He won the pursuit races in Oberhof and Antholz and also came second three times.
Laegreid's team partner Karoline Offigstad Knotten has not been able to build on this success recently. Although the 30-year-old finished on the podium twice with the Norwegian relay team, she missed out on the top 20 in the individual races in the last few races. The Norwegian already proved that she has what it takes to be the absolute best in the world with third place in the sprint in Hochfilzen (Austria) before Christmas.
Team Germany I - Anna Weidel & Justus Strelow
Anna Weidel and Justus Strelow moved up from fourth to second place at the biathlon in Schalke with a magnificent pursuit - the highlight of a mixed season for Weidel so far. The 28-year-old from Kufstein has recently been plagued by frequent health problems, which is why she competed in the German IBU Cup team. Before Christmas, however, Anna Weidel, who had replaced Vanessa Voigt in Gelsenkirchen due to illness, competed in the World Cup. She finished 21st in the pursuit in Annecy (France). At the beginning of February, Weidel became European champion with the German women's relay team at the open European Biathlon Championships in Martell.
Her team partner Justus Strelow is a permanent member of the World Cup team and made a name for himself with 7th place in the mass start and 11th place in the individual at the home World Cup in Ruhpolding. He also finished on the World Cup podium with the single-mixed relay in Oberhof and the men's relay in Ruhpolding. The Saxon has his strengths at the shooting range and is one of the world's best with a 91 percent hit rate in prone shooting.
Team Germany II - Franziska Preuß & Philipp Nawrath
The second German team also finished on the podium at the WTC in Schalke. For Franziska Preuß from Wasserburg, it was just another success in a memorable season so far: the 30-year-old is the leader in the overall World Cup and currently the best in the sprint and mass start. While the weekend in Oberhof did not quite go to plan for Preuß, she struck back in Ruhpolding and Antholz. In Ruhpolding, her adopted home, she came second in both individual races and won the women's relay as the final skier. She also finished third twice in Antholz.
Philipp Nawrath is 11th in the overall World Cup and the best German in the current season. Time and again, Nawrath competes with the world's elite and demonstrates his skills: His achievements include an 11th place in the mass start in Ruhpolding and a 16th place in the pursuit in Antholz. Like Justus Strelow, he was also part of the men's relay team that finished on the podium in Ruhpolding.
Secure tickets now
The list of podium finishers from the last World Team Challenge alone shows what a top-class field of participants the Biathlon auf Schalke has year after year. Winter sports fans who would like to watch the spectacle up close on December 28, 2025 can secure tickets now at tickets.biathlon-aufschalke.de or tickets.schalke04.de, via the hotline 0180 | 5378873 or 0209 | 9775 1877 and at the Service Center at the FC Schalke 04 office (Ernst-Kuzorra-Weg 1, 45891 Gelsenkirchen). Tickets are still available at a reduced Early Bird price until Wednesday (12.2.).
