Östersund showed wintry temperatures during the first decisions in women's & men's singles. So the needle on the thermometer showed temperatures far below freezing point. The athletes defied the cold and were able to show their usual strong performances.
In addition to the cold temperatures at the beginning, the news that Corona is spreading again caused a stir. Some athletes, such as Sturla Holm Laegreid, the two Boe brothers, Quentin Fillon Maillet, but also the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson, who lives in Östersund, announced that they were infected with Corona.
Nevertheless, the helpers and volunteers managed to organize first-class competitions around the biathlon - weekend. Thus, the women started their 15 kilometer individual race in the best conditions.
With little wind and good conditions it was almost clear that at the end of the day the 0 must stand at the shooting range to be able to stand at the top of the podium. But it was the two Italians, Dorothea Wierer and Lisa Vittozzi, who achieved this masterpiece. Wierer took the lead by 25 seconds, third was the German Denise Hermann-Wick, who made a mistake right at the beginning of the race.
Fourth place went to the French KinetiXx athlete Julia Simon.
The men also went into the track only a few hours after the women - race. The conditions were similarly good. Here, too, the victory went only on the 100% hit performance and a decent running performance. Benedikt Doll from Germany, convinced with a flawless performance and was able to take the victory. Second went to Tommaso Giacomel from Italy ahead of Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen from Norway.
After a training or rest day, the relay races of both genders were on the agenda. The Norwegian women around Juni Arnekleiv, Ida Lien, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland climbed to the top after a thrilling race. With a gap of 15 seconds the French women finished second, closely followed by the German ladies.
Exactly the same picture was shown in the men's relay. The podium was made exactly by the same nations. In the end it was Norway, ahead of France and Germany.
The weekend was rounded off by the two mass start decisions. As the days before, the women were first with their 12.5 kilometer long mass start, in which the 30 best start. Dorothe Wierer was able to confirm her strong running and shooting performance and was crowned the winner for the second time. Just like the Italian, the young Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot also remained flawless and became "surprise - second"! Third place went to compatriot Julia Simon.
Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen took the race in hand from the beginning. He was constantly at the front of the field and always had a small lead in the race from the first shooting. He carried this lead to the finish after a faultless shooting and a strong running form. The following places were fought for until the finish line. In the end, Johannes Dale narrowly edged out the young Frenchman Eric Perrot, who celebrated their day's success together at the finish line.
Now it goes for all teams in the season finale, to the most traditional place of the biathlon circus, the Holmenkollbakken, in Norway. Already on 16 March the festival will take place here. Be there!
Pictures K.Voigt Photography