Two favorites victories, a big surprise and an emotional farewell: The final competition day of the Swiss Biathlon Championships once again had plenty of headlines. Above all, the farewell of Elisa Gasparin, who completed the last race of her career in Goms.
Lena Häcki-Groß and Sebastian Stalder secured the titles in the mass start races on the last day of the Swiss biathlon championships. Häcki-Groß finished 1:47 minutes, Stalder had a 46 second cushion on his first pursuer.
Coralie Langel made headlines away from it. Born in the French, she had announced her change to the Swiss biathlon team just a few days ago and was now a big exclamation mark with second place in the mass start. She came across the line just ahead of Flavia Barmettler, which will now end her career.
Swiss biathlon star hangs up rifles
The same applies to Elisa Gasparin. The long-standing top performer of the Swiss women’s team will also give up her rifle. After their last crossing, there were hugs and to celebrate the day champagne. The 33-year-old briefly was no longer enough for a podium. The bronze rank missed only 0.3 seconds.
Silver and bronze in the mass start of the men went to Joscha Burkhalter and Arnaud du Pasquier, who secured the medals in the absence of top runners Niklas Hartweg.
The Swiss championships and thus a complicated season for the Confederates came to an end with the two mass start races. Compared to the previous year, the team deteriorated both in the men’s and women’s World Cup. The most successful athlete was Amy Baserga, who completed the overall World Cup ranking in 16th place.