On Saturday, women will begin their individual competitions at the IBU World Championships Biathlon Pokljuka 2021. The same as their men colleagues, women biathletes will also first deal with the shortest event – sprint. Women will compete over the 7.5 km long track, and will shoot once in the prone position and once in the standing position.
Norwegians Tiril Eckhoff in Marte Olsbu Røiseland are the first favourites for the win. Eckhoff won the last three sprints before the World Championships, and she was also once second, while her teammate Marte Olsbu Røiseland is defending the title. This season, the overall leading biathlete of the season, Røiseland, won one silver and one bronze medal. Both have already won one gold from the mixed relay event here in Pokljuka.
Not to be overlooked is Sweden’s Hanna Öberg who won the first two sprints of the season in Kontiolahti, besides, the third biathlete of the season was once second. Belarus Dzinara Alimbekava, the seventh in the overall standing, also has one win in sprint from this season. In the first six races of the season, 12 different biathletes stood on the podium. The most podiums, eight, were won by Norwegians, Swedes follow with four. In Oberhof, Lisa Theresa Hauser won two bronze medals for Austria, Belarus, France, Italy and Germany have taken the podium once.
The home nation, Slovenia, will be represented by the debutante at the World Championships Lena Repinc, Lea Einfalt and Polona Klemenčič.
Last year in Anterselva, American Susan Dunklee, currently the 55th biathlete of the season, won the silver, and Czech Lucie Charvátová, who is four places behind American in the World Cup, the bronze.
Start at 14:30.
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7,5 km Sprint |
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Date |
Place |
Winner |
Second |
Third |
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29 November 2020 |
Kontiolahti |
Hanna Öberg |
Marte Olsbu Røiseland |
Karoline Offigstad Knotten |
|
3 December 2020 |
Kontiolahti |
Hanna Öberg |
Anaïs Chevalier |
Elvira Öberg |
|
11 December 2020 |
Hochfilzen |
Dzinara Alimbekava |
Tiril Eckhoff |
Franziska Preuß |
|
18 December 2020 |
Hochfilzen |
Tiril Eckhoff |
Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold |
Marte Olsbu Røiseland |
|
8 January 2021 |
Oberhof |
Tiril Eckhoff |
Hanna Öberg |
Lisa Theresa Hauser |
|
14 January 2021 |
Oberhof |
Tiril Eckhoff |
Dorothea Wierer |
Lisa Theresa Hauser |
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World Championships 2020 |
Antholz-Anterselva |
Marte Olsbu Røiseland |
Susan Dunklee |
Lucie Charvátová |