The former successful biathlete Daria Domračevová had a rather atypical shooting routine, when she started with the middle target for the standing events.
She continued with targets on the left side to finally move to the right. She was unique in that, and over time even directors of live broadcasts got used to it.
However, when Paulína Bátovská Fialková sent the opening shot into the second target from the right during the final shooting of Friday’s race in Nové Mesto na Morava, many fans were surprised.
Did the graphics fail, will it return to the end target or did it miss so much that the system did not catch the charge? All options came into consideration, but when 45 penalty seconds were added to her account, it was clear which was the right one.
This mistake also made the 33-year-old native of Brezno regret, because if it weren’t for her, she would have been much closer to the top 10 in the shortened endurance race.
Second best running time
Bátovská Fialková finally took 19th place in the Vysočina Arena with four shooting errors. The second lay was the least successful for her, in which she missed twice.
“I was calm and satisfied with the way I estimated the wind and clicked once during the opening lay. However, I don’t know at all what happened on the second one. I will have to see,” she said in a live STVR broadcast.
VIDEO: Cut of shortened women’s endurance race
Although she already achieved better results this year, she performed perhaps the best running performance in Novi Mesto. Although, according to her own words, the snow conditions did not suit her, it looked different in the intermediate times.
Only the Frenchwoman Justine Braisazová-Bouchetová, who enjoyed her first individual victory since last year’s WC in Lenzerheide, was faster.
Bátovská Fialková’s run is a great promise before the upcoming Olympics and an important factor that could make her think about a medal.
The leader of the Slovak team also returned to the curiosity from the final shooting.
“The first shot probably went into the concrete somewhere. As the freezing rain was falling, the mats were very slippery and I slipped after the first shot. That’s why the bullet went somewhere under the targets and the system couldn’t catch it,” she assessed.
Career maximum and first points
A successful race from the point of view of Slovak colors was confirmed by Mária Remeňová in 20th place and Ema Kapustová in 35th place, for whom these were the first points of the season.
The Slovaks thus achieved something similar to the beginning of the year in Oberhof, when in the 7.5 km sprint, three also finished on the points.
Good form was confirmed by Remeňová, who improved her career best by fourteen positions. Paradoxically, she mastered both handstands one hundred percent.
“I don’t even realize it. I was doing what I was taught. I was very afraid of the shooting range, because it is treacherous. All the competitors were shooting a stand-up from the rear targets, I went to the sixteenth round, where it was a bit more windy.
I’m all the more glad that it was zero. The only thing I regret is that I got a stomach cramp in the last round and the finish could have been better,” she said.
The reward for her new career high will be participation in the mass race on Sunday, in which the top 30 traditionally qualify.
Even if she had to crawl to her destination
Ema Kapustová also made two mistakes on the shooting range, who finally finished in the 35th position, about a minute behind her compatriots.
“I’m very grateful for the points. I was pleased with the shooting while standing, because I had a little problem in Osrblí. It’s a shame about the two shots on the layup, because those were my mistakes.
As far as running goes, it was a doozy of a day. I was stiff, but when they shouted at me in the last lap that it was a good result, I told myself that I would still fight, even if I had to crawl to the finish line,” she told TASR.
Anastasija Kuzminová, who finished in 54th place, fared the least among the Slovak representatives. Even before the third shot, she was in tenth place, but the following four mistakes in the layup ruined her chances of a quality result.
“I had the feeling that the wind was the same as on the first lay, so I didn’t think about what was the mistake. I’m very sorry. Even with three or four mistakes, a nice result could have been achieved, but six is too much,” said a disappointed Kuzminová.
He will have a chance to improve his reputation in Saturday’s mixed relay, where he will compete together with Bátovská Fialková, Jakub Borguľ and Šimon Adamov.
If there are no changes, Ema Kapustová will no longer perform in the Vysočina arena, as Mária Remeňová and Artur Ischakov are in the individual relay.
