Martin Nörl and Jana Fischer missed the long-awaited first medal for the German snowboard team at the Olympic Winter Games in China and ended up fifth. At the Olympic premiere of the mixed team event in Zhangjiakou on Saturday, the two snowboard crossers only came third in their semi-finals and thus did not make it into the final of the top four teams. In the small final they drove the best time and finished the competition in fifth place.
Gold went to the USA with Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner. The 36-year-old Jacobellis had already become an Olympic champion in singles. Italy won silver with Michela Moioli/Omar Visintin, bronze went to Meryeta Odine and Eliot Grondin from Canada.
After a few disappointments in the past few days, the German snowboarders are threatened with games without a medal. After his three World Cup victories in January, Nörl traveled to China as the leader in the overall standings and one of the big favorites for gold, but then failed early on in the individual competition. Just like Fischer, who only returned to the World Cup at the end of January after suffering a shoulder joint rupture in November. The raceboarders Ramona Hofmeister and Stefan Baumeister, who competed with medal ambitions, were also eliminated early in the parallel giant slalom. In the big air events that are still to come, the Germans tend to be outsiders.
