Latvian biathlete Roberts Slotiņš took the 72nd place in the ten-kilometer sprint distance of the first stage of the World Cup in Estešund on Sunday, Aleksandrs Patrijuks was in the 97th place, but Edgars Mise was in the 108th position.
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The first sprint of the season was won by Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelson, who beat Norwegian Vetli Schostad Kristiansen by 11.8 seconds and another Norwegian biathlete, the winner of the Big Crystal Globe for the past three years, by Juhann Tinggnes Bay. The athletes who finished in the first three shot flawlessly.
Behind the top three in 11-12 seconds were two Frenchmen Emilien Jekelen and Simon Destier, but the German was closed by Philip Navrat of Germany.
The broom didn’t score a single goal, losing two minutes and 42.8 seconds. The Latvian shared the 72nd place with the Lithuanian Tomas Kaukēna.
Patryuk didn’t score two goals and lost more than three minutes, but Mass made one mistake in the line of fire, but was more than three and a half minutes behind. 117 athletes participated.
It has already been reported that Baiba Bendika took the 14th place in the women’s 7.5 kilometer sprint, Sanita Buliņa finished in the 88th position, and Annija Keita Sabule took the 112th place.
The Latvian national team will participate in this composition in the first two stages of the PK. It can then be reviewed.
The leading Latvian biathlete in the men’s competition Andrejs Rastorgujevs is currently disqualified, which prevents him from starting the competition.
The International Biathlon Federation (IBU) said on Friday that 98% of team members had been vaccinated or had Covid-19 before the start of the international biathlon season. The remaining 2% of athletes, coaches, team officials, and technicians who have not been vaccinated with Covid-19 should be tested for PCR every 72 hours.
The second stage of the World Cup is scheduled to take place in Estesund, but then in December there will be two stages on the Austrian track in Hohfilzen and on the French track in Annecy / Legran-Born. Athletes will start the new year with two stages in Germany – Oberhof and Ruholding, competing in Antholca-Anterselv in Italy in mid-January. The Olympic Games will be hosted in Beijing in February, and the PK stage in Kontiolahti will start at the end of the month, after which the PK stage will take place on the Otepää track in Estonia for the first time, and the season will traditionally end in Oslo.
