15:36
Sweden and Italy deliver
Elvira Öberg secures second place for Sweden with just one spare. Lisa Vittozzi does exactly the same thing for Italy. The podium is done. Denise Herrmann then needs exactly one additional cartridge, which actually brings the DSV team up to fourth place. Also because Selina Gasparin and Julia Schwaiger have to go into the penalty loop.
15:35
last shooting
Norway can hardly be stopped. Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold could also afford a penalty loop. But she doesn’t think about making it exciting again. The final leg of the relay world champion gets all ten shots on target today and walks away.
15:30
Herrmann shoots sharply
Julia Schwaiger reloads once, is fifth. Denise Herrmann shoots hard. The individual Olympic champion brings the German relay up to 7th place. On the other hand, there are difficulties for France again. Julia Simon catches a penalty loop. In addition, it is checked whether Justine Braisaz-Bouchet missed a shot.
15:29
Italy on course for the podium
Lisa Vittozzi gets through with one spare and defends 3rd place for Italy. Although Selina Gasparin then shoots splendidly, the Swiss are 20 seconds short.
15:28
Seventh shooting
Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is ready to shoot and calmly kills all targets. When the Norwegian almost straightens up, Elvira Öberg arrives and misses the first two shots. Nevertheless, the Swede escapes the penalty loop, but the gap is growing.
15:25
Switzerland sniffs the podium
The Swiss are ten seconds short of the podium. Aita hands over to Selina Gasparin. The final runner for the sixth-placed Austrians is Julia Schwaiger. France at number 9 is marked with an asterisk. Something seems to have gone wrong there. Germany is tenth. Denise Herrmann now has to do damage limitation.
15:24
Last change
The anchor Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold is available for Norway. It remains with the almost 30 seconds gap that Hanna Öberg gives her sister Elvira on the way. Federica Sanfilippo brings Italy into the transition area in 3rd position and hands over to Lisa Vittozzi.
15:21
Lien defends himself
On her final lap, Ida Lien withstood the nimble Hanna Öberg and claimed the half minute. The other pursuers are then more than a minute behind.
15:19
Switzerland in 3rd place
Then it’s reloaded – twice in Italy and Switzerland. Nevertheless, Aita Gasparin is third on her final lap. And although Anna Juppe gets through without a spare, Austria is now only seventh for reasons of skiing. Germany and France are also reloading and are therefore not making any progress.
15:18
Öberg takes up pursuit
For the competition, it can only be about 2nd place. This time Hanna Öberg comes through cleanly and returns to the track in second place. Only half a minute is missing to the top. Is there something else for the Olympic champions?
15:17
Sixth shooting
The field of the 16 remaining squadrons continues to expand. That’s why Ida Lien is coming back to the shooting range. The Norwegian regulates this again with a spare and thus defends the clear lead.
15:13
Preuss clears up
The French comeback doesn’t get going due to three spare rounds. Franziska Preuss, on the other hand, shoots hard. The Germans are now tenth right behind France.
15:12
Switzerland and Austria stay tuned
The Swiss are still holding their own Aita Gasparin shoots perfectly and returns to the track in fourth place. Anna Juppe, on the other hand, has to reload three times, but Austria remains in 5th place.
15:11
Italy in second place
Hanna Öberg then wants to speed things up. Four goals soft – but not the fifth. Only the last reloader sits. The Swede is spared the penalty loop. But meanwhile Federica Sanfilippo swept past with five goals.
15:10
Fifth shooting
Ida Lien arrives at the shooting range with a large lead and can complete her shooting bout without any pressure. The Scandinavian fires her shots in a calm manner. All discs fall.
15:07
Lapped Latvia
The French are laboriously working their way up to 8th position. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is now supposed to start catching up. And where are the Germans? Vanessa Hinz, still in fifteenth place, hands over to Franziska Preuss. The lapped Latvians are just being taken out of the race.
15:06
Second change
Meanwhile, Norway is changing again. It’s now Ida Lien’s turn and gets a minute’s cushion on the way. Then the Swedes follow. Switzerland, Italy and Austria are still ten to 15 seconds behind.
15:03
Germany far behind
France is currently in 10th position. This relay is about the Discipline World Cup. The French are jeopardizing the top position in this ranking. The German team fell back to 15th place – more than two minutes behind.
15:01
Switzerland in 4th place
The Swiss use the mistakes of the competition. Despite two spares, Lena Häcki moves up to 4th place. Dorothea Wierer needs an extra cartridge, Italy is fifth.
15:00
Penalty loops for Hinz
Anna Magnusson comes through today without any spares, bringing the Swedes to second place. Austria is still third despite the penalty loop – also because Vanessa Hinz makes a bad mistake. Deny two targets. The German has to gyrate.
14:59
Fourth shooting
Once again, Tiril Eckhoff arrives at the shooting range alone. The Norwegian corrected the mistake on the third shot with a spare. Shortly thereafter, Lisa Theresa Hauser is struggling. A disc just doesn’t like to fall – penalty loop.
14:57
state of things
Norway now leads by 20 seconds. Austria and Sweden follow. Vanessa Hinz has pushed the German squadron to fourth place. Three quarters of a minute is missing to the top. Italy is in seventh place with Dorothea Wierer, Switzerland is ninth and France is only twelfth.
14:55
France in the penalty loop
While Vanessa Hinz works perfectly, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet does not work at all. The French has two penalties and falls far behind. Lena Häcki reloads twice.
14:54
Third shooting
Tiril Eckhoff can go to the prone position in peace. And just as relaxed, the Norwegian clears all targets out of the way. The Olympic fourth remains clearly in front. A little later, Lisa Theresa Hauser does not reveal any weaknesses either. Anna Magnusson does the same for her.
14:50
Hinz for Germany
Vanessa Voigt completed a very good final lap. Germany arrives at position 8 when changing. Vanessa Hinz takes over. 43 seconds are missing to the top. The Confederates follow directly behind – now with Lena Häcki.
14:49
First change
Then the starters made it. The handover takes place. Røiseland sends Tiril Eckhoff on the journey – with a good twelve seconds credit. Then come the Swedes and France. In 4th place, Lisa Theresa Hauser for Austria is on her way, a good 24 seconds behind.
14:45
Røiseland pulls away
On her final lap, Marte Olsbu Røiseland puts her foot down and leaves her competitors behind. Most of the other athletes struggle up the last climb.
14:43
problems at Voigt
Vanessa Voigt has to reload three times, but manages to avoid the penalty loop. The same goes for Elisa Gasparin. Germany and Switzerland slip out of the top 10 for the time being. This time only the Latvian has to go into the penalty loop, she circles twice and continues to carry the red lantern around the course.
14:42
Second shooting
In the standing position, the targets no longer fall quite as desired. Reloaders are required – one each for Norway and Austria. That can be fixed quickly. Linn Persson, on the other hand, clears away immediately and puts Sweden in 3rd place.
14:39
On the round
On the track everything comes together again. Marte Olsbu Røiseland closes the gap to the front again and Linn Persson is also working hard, halving the deficit.
14:37
Reloaders in Norway and Sweden
The Norwegian Røiseland needs an additional cartridge. Sweden’s Linn Persson reloads twice. This puts the Olympic champion relay a good 20 seconds behind when they leave the shooting range. The Latvian Baiba Bendika and the Finnish Mari Eder have to go to the penalty loop.
14:36
First shooting
Now the weapon is used for the first time. The athletes set up the prone position. First shots ring out. Anaïs Bescond works spotlessly. Dunja Zdouc, Elisa Gasparin, Susan Dunklee and Vanessa Voigt do the same.
14:33
First split
First, the field remains completely together. Marte Olsbu Røiseland is in the lead, pulling everyone else behind. Nothing will happen until the first visit to the shooting range.
14:30
begin
Now the start of the last relay competition for women this winter takes place. The 17 women stormed off from three starting corridors at temperatures around freezing point.
14:25
favourites
When looking for the favorites, we inevitably end up with the Olympic champions. With one exception, Sweden is bringing its gold quartet Linn Persson and Hanna and Elvira Öberg to the start. Only Mona Brorsson is replaced by Anna Magnusson. The desire for revenge drives the Norwegians (Olympic fourth) and France (Olympic sixth). The French in particular had set the tone before the games in the World Cup. We also keep an eye on the Italians.
14:19
Beijing Bronze Squadron
Germany is going into the race exactly with the bronze-decorated Olympic line-up – that is, with Vanessa Voigt, Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Preuss and Denise Herrmann. At the Olympic ninth in Austria, you tackle Dunja Zdouc, Lisa Theresa Hauser, Anna Juppe and Julia Schwaiger.
14:12
series
This leaves us with 17 relay teams who want to tackle the 4 x 6 kilometer competition. Each athlete has to complete three two-kilometre rounds, between which they shoot first in a prone position and then in a standing position. Three reloaders are available per strike. If these are not enough to get the five targets out of the way, there is a penalty loop for each missed target.
14:05
Ukraine
There is also no Ukrainian relay at the start. Of course, the athletes from the attacked Eastern European country currently have other concerns than pursuing their passion in the World Cup. Some people do their homeland service for the fatherland – for example Dmytro Pidurchnyi. The fate of 19-year-old young biathlete Yevhen Malyshev, who died in the fighting, also made headlines.
13:58
sanctions
Despite the proximity, the Russian athletes, like those from Belarus, will be absent and will not appear in the World Cup this season. The sanctions are now also having a far-reaching effect in sport. So specifically, today we’re missing out on the Silver medalists from Beijing (ROC Relay) and two teams that have already made it onto the World Cup podium this season. The best-known absent Belarusians are Dzinara Alimbekava, second overall, and Hanna Sola, pursuit winner at Hochfilzen.
13:51
North Karelia
Finland’s eastern neighbor is known to be Russia. In sparsely populated North Karelia, the biathlon entourage is not far from the Russian border. By the way, the entire region of Karelia stretches across both sides, and more than 400 years ago it was completely part of the Russian Empire.
13:44
Tervetuloa!
Welcome to the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti! A good week and a half after the Winter Games in Beijing, the ski hunters in eastern Finland are contesting their first post-Olympic competitions. The women will start with their relay this Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CET.