Anamarija Lampic already had nine fingers on the title at the Slovenian championships. But then the biathlete’s nerves failed her during the last shooting. In the end, the former world-class cross-country skier was left empty-handed.
While most biathlon stars use the short winter break for much-needed recovery and intensive preparation for the next World Cup races in Oberhof, the national championships are on the program in Slovenia these days. In the women’s individual competition, Anamarija Lampic once again came into focus.
Until the last shooting, Lampic was clearly on course for gold. The 28-year-old dominated the cross-country ski trail as ever and only made one mistake on the first three attempts. Despite a three-minute penalty, she was miles ahead of the competition before the final standing stage – but then suddenly everything went wrong.
Biathlon star despairs at the shooting range
Lampic only hit one of five goals in her last attempt and spent an additional four minutes. Even the strongest biathlete in the world couldn’t catch up. In the end, the Slovenian only managed sixth place with a total of seven penalty minutes. She was 3:37 minutes behind the new individual champion Polona Klemenčič (two errors).
Silver and bronze went to Lena Repinc (two errors/+1:07 minutes) and Živa Klemenčič (two errors/+2:13 minutes).
Biathlon veteran secures bronze
World Cup starter Anton Vidmar secured the men’s championship title. In a real photo finish, he ended up 1.7 seconds ahead of Miha Dovžan. Bronze went to the Slovenian old champion Jakov Fak (+1:03 mins). Like his two podium neighbors, he only made one shooting error in the entire competition.
The official winter break for the biathlon stars only lasts until January 4th. Then the next World Cup races are already on the program in Oberhof.