January 17, 3:21 p.m
Added January 17, 4:52 p.m
Renārs Birkentāls achieved the best result in his career at the World Cup on Saturday, finishing 18th in the 10-kilometer biathlon sprint distance. The usual leader of the Latvian team, Andrejs Rastorgujevs, was not so fast in skiing, but that did not prevent him from reaching the 32nd position in Rūpolding and adding points to the overall ranking.
Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson won, finishing 17.6 seconds ahead of runner-up World Cup season leader Italian biathlete Tommaso Giacomella. The Norwegian Isak Leknes Frej also entered the top three, who was separated from the winner by 34.1 seconds. Samuelson and Frey shot flawlessly, while Giacomel skied one penalty lap.
Birkenthal lost one minute and 15.4 seconds to the winner, entering the TOP20 for the first time in the World Cup competition. So far, his best result in the World Cup circuit was 27th place in 2023/2024. in the season of the year.
Both Birkenthal and Rastorgujev made mistakes in the shooting, and with a place in the TOP60, both secured participation in the pursuit distance. Another Latvian, Edgars Mise, skied two penalty laps and finished 92nd in the competition of 108 participants.
Renard Birkenthal’s first shooting
Birkenthal made a mistake in the first shot while lying in the firing line, which was his only mistake.
Renard Birkenthal’s second shooting
By contrast, Birkenthal’s calmer pace paid off in standing shooting, and all the bullets hit the target. After the second shoot, he was ahead of Rastorguyev by only 2.2 seconds, but increased the pace in the remaining distance to the finish.
Andrei Rastorguyev’s first shooting
On the other hand, Rastorgujev shot lying down accurately and in a good rhythm, not making a single mistake.
Andrey Rastorguyev’s second shooting
Rastorguyev did not fare so well in standing shooting, where he earned one penalty round. Andrejs reached the finish line first, but at that time most of the competitors had not yet started, and after the leaders entered the fight, he slipped lower in the results table.
The first shooting of Edgar Mises
After prone shooting, Mise skied one penalty lap.
The second shooting of Edgar Mises
Also in the second shootout, Mies was left with one target intact and skied a penalty lap before returning to the track.
In the overall standings of the World Cup, Birkenthal overtook Rastorgujev, rising to the 38th position with 63 points. Rastorgujev is in 45th place with 51 points.
At the end of the fifth stage of the season, the men and women will compete in the pursuit distance on Sunday in Rupolding, Germany. Before the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, another round of the World Cup is planned, which will start on January 22 in the Czech Republic, Nove Mesto.
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