After winning the mass start
Biathlon star vomits at the finish
12/22/2025 – 1:02 p.mReading time: 1 min.
A Norwegian won the first World Cup victory of her career in the mass start. To do this, she pushed herself to her limits.
Maren Kirkeeide fought for the first World Cup victory of her career at the weekend – and completely exhausted herself for it. After a thrilling mass start in Le Grand-Bornand, France, the Norwegian crossed the finish line first and triumphed in front of around 30,000 spectators. The effort was clearly visible on her face: she had to vomit at the finish. “I exhausted myself, so I had a bit of heartburn,” Kirkeeide told TV station NRK. The acidic stomach juice that came up in her body had to come out immediately. “That happens to me every now and then.”
Teammate Marte Kråkstad Johansen was not surprised by the scene in the finish area. “That’s typical Maren. That’s just how she is. It’s not the first time she’s done that,” she said.
Kirkeeide had already been on the podium twice this season. She also won a medal in the mass start at the World Championships last year. The expectations of the 22-year-old for the new season were correspondingly high. And she shouldn’t disappoint at the mass start in Le Grand-Bornand.
After the last shooting, she was still in second place behind the Frenchwoman Camille Bened, but overtook her and won after a sprint to the finish, just ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. The success filled her: “It means a lot to me, I really enjoy it all,” she said.