Biathlete Markéta Davidová started the year 2022 with the eleventh place in the World Cup sprint in Oberhof. Jessica Jislová finished 20th. Nor Marte Olsbu, the leading woman in the series, won the second sprint in a row. Michal Krčmář finished 30th in the men’s race. The winner was the Russian Alexandr Loginov, who scored the fourth triumph in the World Championships in his career.
The world champion from the endurance race, Davidová, lost only 5.6 seconds to Russia’s leader Kristina Rezcova after a clean opening item and was able to fight for victory. But standing up, the Czech biathlon number one made two mistakes and dropped out of the elite ten.
“I know about those wounds and I was upset that they went next door. I felt the wind a bit, but I don’t think it was something I would have to give for two,” she told Czech Television. She lost 43.9 seconds to the winner. The eleventh running time kept her in the foreground. “I was doing well. I have to thank the service because I had skis that can be raced,” she said.
Jislová continued the excellent pre-Christmas form only on the shooting range. She was flawless there, but she was worried about running, so she ended up losing more than a minute at the end of the second ten. “I was terribly sick, so I thought I couldn’t add a job and still add a penalty round,” she looked for reasons for precision shooting. She still hasn’t got rid of the fatigue of Le Grand-Bornand, where she shone, among other things, the fifth place in the race with a mass start.
In addition to Davidová and Jislová, only Eva Puskarčíková, who lost more than two minutes with two mistakes and took 55th place, qualified for Sunday’s fighter race. Lucie Charvátová had to change her skis because she went to the training sessions, and after four penalty laps she took 76th place. Tereza Vinklárková was ninety-five.
Olsbu Röiseland, with one mistake lying down, defended the lead 7.1 seconds over the Belarusian Hanna Solova and the Frenchwoman Julia Simonová, who shared the second place.
In the men’s race, the innkeeper waited for the first shot before the second gust of wind passed. It paid off for him. He cleared all the targets, while the faster-shooting favorite Johannes Thingnes Bö missed three and ruined the race. Despite the second fastest run, he finished up to 28 with a total of five mistakes. The innkeeper then missed twice. “I’m sorry about the fifth blow, I should have put it there. I could have handled it better,” he regretted. In the end, he closed the third ten.
That was the weather once again – today I didn’t like luck very much, but it’s also a sport. On Sunday I will do my best to improve the position, but first… relay mix ????????
– Michal Krčmář (@ mkrcmar23) January 7, 2022
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Adam Václavík also scored, finishing 36th after three penalty rounds, which is his best result in the Olympic season. Jakub Štvrtecký also advanced to Sunday’s fighter race from 42nd place. Of the Czech national team, Vítězslav Hornig was the best at the shooting range, making only one mistake, but due to the below-average run he still took 83rd place. Milan Žemlička was ten places behind him with three mistakes.
Twenty-nine-year-old Loginov missed just one target in heavy snow and variable winds and moved from third place to second. He left World Cup leader Emilien Jacquelin of France, who completed two penalty rounds, by 6.5 seconds. Nor Sturla Holm Laegreid finished third, losing 15 seconds to the winner.
A mixed relay and mixed doubles race will take place in Oberhof on Saturday.
Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof (Germany) – sprints:
Men (10 km): 1. Loginov (Rus.) 27:00,8 (1 tr. okruh), 2. Jacquelin (Fr.) -6,5 (2), 3. Laegreid (Nor.) -15,1 (1), 4. Kühn -18,6 (2), 5. Rees (oba Něm.) -20,2 (1), 6. Babikov (Rus.) -23,0 (0), 7. T. Bö (Nor.) -23,6 (3), 8. Serochvostov (Rus.) -25,8 (2), 9. Fillon Maillet (Fr.) -29,5, 10. Andersen (Nor.) -38,2 (1), …30. The innkeeper -1:24,5 (2), 36. Václavík -1:39,5 (3), 42. Thursday -1:50,8 (3), 83. Hornig -3:25,2 (1), 93. Bun (all CR) -3: 55.4 (3).
World Championship rankings (after 10 of 22 races): 1. Jacquelin 425 b., 2. Fillon Maillet 401, 3. Christiansen (Nor.) 372, 4. Samuelsson (Švéd.) 371, 5. T. Bö 356, 6. Latypov (Rus.) 336, …28. The innkeeper 127, 67. Thursday 14, 80. Václavík 80.
Women (7.5 km): 1. Röiselandová (Nor.) 23: 30.1 min. (1), 2. Solova (White) -7.1 (2) and Simon (Fr.) -7.1 (1), 4. Alimbekav (White) -22.6 (2), 5. Tandrevold (Nor.) -23.1 (1), 6. Chevalierova-Bouchetova (Fr.) -26.3 (1), 7. Rezcovova (RUS) -26.6 (2), 8. Ederova (Fin.) ) -28.4 (1), 9. H. Öberg (Sweden) -33.5 (2), 10. Wierer (It.) -37.9 (1), 11. David -43,9 (2), …20. Jislová -1:12,1 (0), 55. Puskarčíková -2:04,1 (2), 76. Charvátová -2:48,1 (4), 95. Vinklárková (all CR) -4: 01.8 (3).
Ranking SP (after 10 out of 22 races): 1. Röiselandová 477, 2. E. Öbergová (Sweden) 413, 3. Solová 374, 4. Alimbekavová 370, 5. H. Öbergová 350, 6. Hauserová (Rak.) 344, … 10. David 257, 20. Jislová 178, 51. Puskarčíková 30, 61. Charvátová 21, 72. Vinklárková 12.
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