Cross-country skiing Olympic champion Katharina Hennig decided not to start at the World Championships in her gold discipline in Beijing. The 26-year-old said this on Friday in Planica, Slovenia. Hennig starts in the skiathlon this Saturday and is not in the team sprint.

"It's a little out of the question. If you run one, you don't start the other. I refrained from doing it," said Hennig, who surprisingly won Olympic gold with Victoria Carl in China last year. Carl and Laura Gimmler are expected to start in the team sprint on Sunday this time. However, team boss Peter Schlickenrieder will not announce the final line-up until Saturday.

For the skiathlon, which covers 7.5 kilometers in free technique and 7.5 kilometers in classic technique, Hennig has set the top 10 as the goal. "I'll do my best to avoid doing it the way I did in Beijing. I won't expect too much. Everything can, nothing has to," said Hennig regarding the outlook for her first race in the title fights in the valley of the hills. Hennig did not compete in the sprint. She described the relay and the 30 kilometers as her main races - both competitions only increase in the second week of the World Cup.