23 of 86 athletes shot clean
It quickly became clear that at the World Cup premiere in Estonia only a flawless series on the shooting range could be the way to victory. Sunshine and hardly any wind ensured the best conditions and only a few mistakes by the top skiers. 23 of 86 athletes cleared all discs.
Among them was Doll, who also shone with the third-fastest running time. His final lap in particular was a feast for the eyes, with which the amateur chef pushed himself onto the podium. “The zero was the target and you should also shoot quite quickly. I missed a few seconds, but otherwise it was perfect. It’s really fun here.”said Doll of the sports show.
Lesser – Mistakes cost podium
Erik Lesser was just as quick as Doll. The Thuringian, who announced his departure last week, was only two seconds slower than his roommate on the track, but missed one of the ten targets. And that was exactly one too many under laboratory conditions. Lesser was seventh – and was surprised by his good sprint.
“But I won’t rest on my laurels“, he laughed extremely easy. The error bothered him anyway: “Without the missed shot I would have been running for second place.“And Lesser also struggled a little with his final lap.”I lost there. I’ll probably have to train again before Oslo” he joked.
Rees strong fifth – Kühn blunders at the shooting range
Roman Rees was also joking. With ten direct hits and fast legs, Rees ran in fifth place, who spoke of a “terrific day” and explained: “For a top result I always need the zero. It was one of my best races because I was even able to save some grains and then did a real final sprint.“
Germany’s best sprinter, Johannes Kühn, who had finished third in the sprint in Kontiolahti, had to bury his hopes for a podium finish after the prone stage. A missed shot meant they were about 25 seconds behind the best. In the standing stage, another round was added, so all chances of a good placement fizzled out. Kühn struggled with rank 23.
Nawrath and Zobel clearly defeated
Philipp Nawrath also had two penalties, and he wasn’t running as fast as his teammates and only finished 33rd. David Zobel (60th) was still well in the race and on the mass start course with one penalty after the prone stage, but all hopes were dashed with three penalties in the standing stage.