Former biathlon world champion Jakov Fak experienced a real fiasco in the relay race in Hochfilzen on Sunday. The Slovenian was at a loss afterwards, the World Cup winners from Norway got to the bottom of the matter.
The 36-year-old biathlon professional Jakov Fak has probably never shot so badly in his long World Cup career.
When shooting prone, the Slovenian missed the target eight times and not a single shot, including the spare, hit the target – a nightmare, as he was the second athlete in his relay and had previously been a promising fourth in the race. After the five penalty laps, the quartet was only concerned with limiting the damage.
At least: In the standing position, Fak got by with two spare rounds and avoided another penalty, and in 17th place he handed over the baton. After good performances from Lovro Planko and Anton Vidmar, Slovenia even achieved a respectable ninth place.
Fak at a loss, Norwegians suspect there is a problem with the weapon
Jakov Fak, who was crowned individual world champion in 2012 and mass start world champion in 2015, was at a loss afterwards. “I really don’t know what happened. It’s the first time that I miss all the shots,” he told the Norwegian broadcaster “NRK”: “If there had been wind, that would be an explanation, but now without wind and “It’s pretty strange in near-perfect conditions.” The whole shooting felt “very bad.”
The poor shooting also caused great surprise among the competition. Johannes Thingnes Bö, who was the third runner to finally set the course for the Norwegian relay victory, believes there was a “crack in the rifle scope or a loose screw”.
According to the overall World Cup winner from last season, Fak’s performance can hardly be explained in any other way. “He is one of the best prone shooters in the biathlon circus,” he emphasized. Teammate Sturla Holm Laegreid also suspected a problem “with the weapon”.