Until she reaches the finish line, there is little reason to smile for everyone who has followed her turbulent career in recent years and celebrated and suffered with the likeable Bavarian.

Preuß’ last biathlon race will be terribly beautiful

At first there is melancholy in the snow-covered Antholz. Looking back is always associated with a certain pain of longing. Preuß’ brief review of this year’s games in Italy is marked by drama and mishaps. She is one of the saddest faces of the Olympics – even the bronze medal at the start of the mixed relay couldn’t change that.

Before the starting signal there are many warm hugs with companions, including Dorothea Wierer, during the shooting and warm-up. The Italian will also compete one last time in front of her home crowd.

Then it starts. The field stays together until the first prone shooting. A penalty lap for Preuß. It is already clear that the hunt for precious metals will have to be a race to catch up.

After a series of errors, Preuß makes her rounds alone

Another mistake in the second stop. Now we need a miracle – the French women in particular are too good, too confident. Preuss is back 46.7 seconds.

Then the standing shooting. She recently had big problems here and even spoke of mental breakdowns. Preuss has to risk everything – and loses everything.

Four out of five panes remain standing. When she sets down her rifle, Preuss’s face shows her sadness. A curse word flies from her lips.

She then circles alone in the penalty loop. A difficult sight for all fans to bear. 28th place, only two athletes are even slower.

Preuss just wants to “absorb everything”

For Preuß it is no longer about the result. She just wanted to “recite everything,” she later tells ARD. “From the first mistake onwards I was relatively calm about it,” she continues, “it almost didn’t matter what the outcome was.”

While the top team is already fully engaged in medal fights, Preuß comes to the final shooting. One last mistake, one last penalty. Another 150 meters.

At the front, the French women Océane Michelon and Julia Simon run to a double victory ahead of the surprise third place Tereza Vobornikova from the Czech Republic. Vanessa Voigt finished seventh as the best German after a good race.

As Preuß crosses the finish line, she smiles

Then it’s time to wait. Waiting for the last corners from Franzi Preuß. As she enters the stadium, there are huge cheers from the stands. On the home stretch, all nations wave their flags to honor the Germans. She waves to the audience, kisses the spectators’ hands and laughs as she crosses the finish line.

They are terribly beautiful pictures. Of course, the result is not what she had hoped for. But that no longer matters at this moment.

In the finish area she is greeted and hugged by the Austrian Lisa Hauser. She also laughs and jokes with Wierer. One can only imagine what burden, what pressure may have been lifted from her at this moment.

The emotional scenes from Preuß’ last race

Together with Wierer she waits for the last of the mass start, Kamila Zuk, who will complete the race with her arrival. Wrapped in flags, the duo can now drive up the home straight and back down again past the main stand, where the words “Thank you, Grazie, Thank You” are written on a large banner. They wave, they laugh and they hold hands and are cheered and celebrated.

This was the most emotional moment of the day for her, she says afterwards. “I didn’t really want to cry today, but it was too late,” laughs Preuss.

Despite finishing 28th out of 30 in her last race, it was “really another nice day for her, the perfect end,” as she says on the Eurosport microphone. “I’m really happy that the chapter is over now, that it’s done.”

The images of the sad, beaten and desperate biathlete of the past few days have been suppressed; images of the laughing, liberated and happy Preuss now predominate. A terribly beautiful finale.