Originally, he was supposed to prepare with coach Martin Bajčičák and skip the World Cup stop in Oberhof.
However, the situation has changed and the young biathlete Jakub Borguľa traveled to collect qualification points for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“I’m glad that I have a chance to fight for the Olympics,” he said modestly to Slovak Biathlon.
He lent weight to his words when he took an excellent 31st place in the sprint race at Oberhof and scored his first World Cup points.
Tough fight for places
“Olympic qualification is set draconian because it takes the results in the Cup of Nations from last season, not this season. At the moment we are not sure of any place.
Our two best competitors must finish in 12th place in the IBU ranking of qualification points (note red. the ranking includes countries outside the top twenty from last year’s Cup of Nations).
So far, it’s very close – Tomáš Sklenárik is ninth and Jakub Borguľa twelfth, but none of them have a certain place yet. In an ideal case, both qualify, in a catastrophic case, neither. We firmly believe that this case will not occur.
It looks very complicated, but it is due to the IBU qualification points. In the coming weeks, the guys must ride better than in the first trimester of the season if they want to be nominated for the Olympics,” said the president of the association Peter Vozár in an interview with Sportnet before the start of the SP in Oberhof.
Only speed and endurance races from World Cups and IBU Cups are taken into account in the ranking. The next two weeks and the WC in Oberhof and Ruhpolding and the IBU Cup in Arber and Osrbl will be decisive.
He started cautiously
In the race in Oberhof, Germany, it was crucial that all biathletes had the same conditions on the track.
“If it is cold and the track is hard, the differences between the groups are not dramatic. However, if it is warm and the track is broken, as was the case at the December events, those in the last groups have a significant disadvantage at the start,” explained Vozár.
“I am very happy with the conditions, because we will all have the same track and the race will be balanced. However, it is a bit cold and my fingers are freezing,” Borguľ revealed before the start.
The 21-year-old representative laid the foundation for success in the first shooting, where he hit all five targets. He scored one penalty lap in the standing shooting, but he did not stiffen in the final running circuit and recorded the 32nd running time.
He was even thirteen seconds faster than world champion Emilien Jacquelin at the end.
Jakub Borguľa rejoices at the finish line. (Author: Matej Lepeň/Slovak Biathlon)
“I didn’t feel the best before the race and I started cautiously. I wanted to pay particular attention to the shooting. I think I succeeded. In the last lap I got information about how I was doing. I gave everything to get the best possible result.
The service technicians did a great job today. They prepared excellent skis for me and I passed the competitors in the downhills,” said Borguľa for Slovak Biathlon.
The maximum for a junior
Other Slovaks also did well. Martin Maťko improved his career best from the last SP stop. In Annecy, he took 79th place in the sprint with one penalty circuit.
He made the same number of mistakes in Oberhof, but recorded a significantly better result – 55th place.
During the break, he was preparing in the company of Olympic champion Anastasia Kuzminová in Pokljuka.
“I hope that I have improved my performance and will improve my result from Annecy. The track will be hard and frozen throughout the race, not as slow as it was in France. I think that with good shooting I can aim quite high in Oberhof,” he revealed to Slovak Biathlon.
Martin Maťko at the finish line. (Author: Matej Lepeň/Slovak Biathlon)
Šimon Adam missed the pursuit race by less than two seconds when he took 63rd place.
He avoided the burden
The trio of Slovak biathletes were originally supposed to move to another German center, Arber, for the IBU Cup race, in order to improve their qualification points for the Olympic Games in the speed races.
“The three men from Oberhof will then move to the speed races in Arber, i.e. the IBU Cup, behind Matej Badaň, Damián Cesnek and Tomáš Sklenárik. Logistically, it will be a very demanding week.
The presidium chose a tactic subordinate to the priority, which is to nominate two men. That’s why we chose this logistically demanding operation, and three men will start in the World Cup and the IBU Cup in one week,” explained Vozár.
However, the situation has changed and finally only Adamov will travel to the IBU Cup.
“I’m glad to start in the pursuit race. The trip to the IBU Cup in Arber scared me a bit. It would be a burden – packing, moving, a new center and new conditions. I’m glad to stay here,” Borguľa said with a smile.
The pursuit race in Oberhof is scheduled for Saturday, January 10 at 12:00.
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