On Saturday, August 24, the IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships
continued with junior and adult sprints. To the delight of the domestic public,
Vibeke Marie Välbe took the 5th place in the junior category as the best
Estonian. Yesterday's super sprint winner Batovska Fialkova had to settle for a
bronze medal today.
In the men's sprint distance, the Czech Jakub Stvrtecky, who did a penalty loop, was
crowned world champion. He was followed by the Frenchman Emilien Claude (1;
+12.4) and the Belgian Thierry Langer (1; +16.2). As the best in Estonia, Rene
Zahkna repeated his last year’s achievement and finished 15th in the competition (3;
+ 1:13.6). He was followed by Kristo Siimer (3; + 1:38.0) in the 27th place, Robert
Heldna in the 57th place (5; + 3:14.2), Raido Ränkel in the 58th place (5; + 3:15.0),
Joosep Perv in the 66th place (6; + 4:54.8) and Marten Aolaid in the 70th place (8; +
6:26.4).
The women's category was triumphed by the Czech Tereza Vobornikova, who
passed both shooting ranges without misses. The silver medal went to the Belgian
biathlete Lotte Lie (0; +0.1). The third was the Slovak Paulina Batovska Fialkova,
who achieved her second podium place in two days (1; +13.5).
Fialkova, who has recently returned to professional sports after the birth of her first
child, admitted that today's competition was more difficult than yesterday's. “It was
very difficult for me on the track today. I worked so hard yesterday to win. Today I
am happy with how I did in the shooting range,” Fialkova commented after the finish.
She pointed out that her priorities have somewhat shifted. “I have to think about my
child and I’m consciously holding myself back when training. At the end of the day, I
also want to spend time with my daughter,” Fialkova added. She also admitted that
she is very competitive and missed competing the most, not even so much training.
The first place in the men's junior category went to Vitalii Mandzyn, representing
Ukraine, who passed all shooting ranges without misses. After Mandzyn, the
Norwegians Haavard Tosterud (2; +41.3) and Sivert Gerhardsen (1; +51.1) finished
second and third, respectively. Mark-Markos Kehva as the best of Estonians finished
in the 15th place (2; + 1:48.7). He was followed by Karl-Rasmus Tiislär (2; + 1:49.5)
in the 16th place, Karl-Ramses Tiislär (2; + 3:19.3) in the 37th place, Rasmus
Vainomäe in the 59th place (4; + 5:28.7) and Oskar Orupõld in the 60th place (4; +
5:34.8).
In the women’s junior category, the Bulgarian biathlete Valentina Dimitrova snatched
the gold medal despite her two penalty loops. The Ukrainians Viktoriia Khvostenko
(0; +0.6) and Olena Horodna (2; +18.5) won the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Vibeke Marie Välbe was the best Estonian of the day and finished the competition with no misses, earning the 5th place (0;+35.9). She was followed by Kretel Kaljumäe (3; + 2:40.4) in the 29th place and Mia Mai Huik in the 54th place (4; + 6:28.8).
The final competition day for the IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships is on
Sunday, August 25. The competition schedule includes junior pursuit races and adult
gala mass start races. Spectators can cheer on the athletes from both the shooting
range grandstand and the track.
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