“Today was terrible. The mistakes on the shooting range were very far, no calibers,” coach Egil Gjelland emphasized on Czech television.
“I can only blame myself. The mistakes were mine and they were big,” Davidová summed up her unsuccessful shooting performance.
She was the fastest of the Czechs on the track, recording the fifteenth fastest time, losing one minute and twenty-two seconds to the best. “I felt good on the track, but with six laps you can’t do much about it,” she added.
What was happening on the track
Neither the start nor the opening round brought any conflict on the track. Already after the first shooting, the Frenchwoman Simonová swung to the front, which indicated her prospects. Jislová, the only one of the Czechs, shot down all the targets, but left seventeenth with a deficit of more than twenty seconds. Davidová and Voborníková had to do two penalty rounds and had to make up for an even greater time loss.
Simonová again aimed accurately on the second shot. Her compatriots Jeanmonnot and Braisaz Bouchet lined up behind her. However, the Czechs continued to struggle. Jislová missed one target and due to slow running on skis she was only twenty-fifth. Davidová and Voborníková added two more mistakes and moved at the tail of the field.
Simonová’s first mistake gave her pursuers a chance. Jen Jeanmonnot took the chance and scored another zero. The other closest rivals had to go through one or more penalty rounds. The Italian Vittozzi left the shooting range in third place to the cheers of the stands.
Davidová and Voborníková shot synchronously, but unfortunately always with two mistakes. Jislová stayed in the middle of the third ten only thanks to the second zero in the race. On the track, she lost almost a minute to the best in the third running section.
Simonová’s track was sitting and before the last item she fought her way back to the front ahead of her compatriot. Immediately she shot accurately and quickly and did not give her opponents a chance at the finish line. The second Jeanmonnot was pursued by Haeckiová Grossová. But the medal positions did not change.
While the fight for the podium places was taking place, the Czechs were only approaching the last entry. Jislová and Davidová did not fail, Voborníková underlined the poor performance with the final three. The first two Czechs left with a gaping, almost three-minute deficit to Simonová, just ahead of the Estonian Tomingasová, who did not hit a single target on the last item. Voborníková still went last.
2024-01-21 13:39:57
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