Hauser started the race in 17th after the sprint. After three flawless target practice, the 26-year-old was already fifth. At the last standing stop, Hauser left a window open. Had she hit all five there as well, she could have intervened in the battle for third place. Not a single athlete hit all 20 goals.
In the end, Hauser was 37 seconds short of a medal and 51 seconds of winner Wierer. Her best World Cup placement remains seventh in the last year in individual over 15 km. “Eighth place at the World Cup is a great result. There are so many people from my home who cheered me on loudly. I heard my name on the track so many times, that was something special. In the last series I would have needed the zero, then at least I would have been there at the flower ceremony, ”explained the Tyrolean.
Leitner with “a few blemishes”
In the men’s division, Leitner remained flawless in the prone position and in the meantime even came in sixth. One mistake in the standing series made the 23-year-old Tyrolean fall back to ninth place. “Top ten again, I can’t complain. There were a few blemishes, but you also need a bit of luck. I’m just as happy as yesterday, ”emphasized Leitner, who ended up 1: 33.0 minutes behind the winner Jacquelin.
Simon Eder made up 25 positions with the third best time of the day and faultless shooting performance and finished twelfth (2: 02.2). “That surprised me myself because I had to struggle with ailments all winter. This race gives me a smart boost, ”said Eder, who was the only one who had hit all the targets next to Jacquelin.
Julian Eberhard improved from 26th to 14th place (2: 07.2) despite four penalties. Only Dominik Landertinger (“I shot like an elementary school student and ran like a pensioner”) was dissatisfied and was also only 40 with four mistakes (3: 55.3).
Rieder is catching up 20 places
In the women’s category, Katharina Innerhofer dropped from 19th to 28th place (2: 02.0). The 29-year-old from Salzburg delivered a strong mileage in the fourth-best time, but had to complete a total of six penalties. “It was definitely better run than yesterday. Unfortunately, I messed up at the shooting range. Six mistakes are just too many, so in the end there can be no better placement, ”concluded Innerhofer.
Christina Rieder, however, showed a strong race. The 26-year-old hit 19 of 20 targets and made up a total of 20 places. In the end it was enough for Rieder to finish 31st (2: 15.8). “Of course it’s great when you can catch up so much space. Three times zero and then unfortunately the last shot again, but otherwise it was really a strong race. I also felt very good about running, ”explained the Salzburg native.
World title for Wierer and Jacquelin
Local hero Wierer fought a long neck-and-neck race with sprint winner Marte Olsbu Röiseland. While the Norwegian had two penalties in the last shooting, Wierer, who had finished seventh in the sprint, only missed one point. The way to the second World Cup title after Östersund 2019 (mass start) was clear for the 29-year-old. In the fight for second place, German Denise Herrmann (+ 9.5) prevailed against Röiseland (13.8).
While the sprint runner-up Quentin Fillon Maillet fell to seventh place with six penalties and Saturday bronze medalist Martin Fourcade also finished fourth, another Frenchman struck with Jacquelin. The 24-year-old stormed from sixth place after the sprint just before top star Johannes Thingnes Bö (0.4) to his greatest success to date. Sprint winner Alexander Loginow (23.9) from Russia took bronze.
The youngster, who has already hinted at his great potential this season with three World Cup podiums, took the lead after the last shooting of Loginow, who was probably mistaken for gold with an over-hasty rapid-fire insert, ahead of the seven-time world champion Bö. Neither of the two managed to break away on the final lap, after a few tactical games by the Frenchman, he finally kept the upper hand in the sprint against the Norwegian, who no longer appears in his usual running form at the World Cup.
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