Following the Christmas break, her skiing times had improved. In Ruhpolding in January 2009, Neuner was part of the winning German relay team. She beat team mate Kati Wilhelm by 0.2 seconds in the Ruhpolding sprint and also won the following pursuit event, which marked her World Cup wins twelve and thirteen. Neuner again missed the podium in Antholz. She was leading the mass start by 53.6 seconds before the final shooting, in which she missed all five targets, eventually finishing sixth. This result received much public attention. She later described it as a pivotal moment in her career and called it the "total end of the world".