HEROES
Rafael Poiret. Many reasonably believed that after the World Cup Raf would leave to babysit two children. What else could inspire the great Frenchman after gold in the prestigious individual race in Anterselva? Money? Hardly. He is too wealthy to dangle around the stages of the World Cup almost every week and live in Spartan conditions away from his family. Glory? Hardly. He is already too famous, despite regular Olympic failures. What then? What holds Poiret in this volatile biathlon world? The Frenchman himself answered in an interview after one of the Finnish races: “I want to adequately end my career. On a winning note. ” Like that - no less. In Lahti, Raf was simply incomparable, won (and very confidently) all races: individual, sprint and pursuit. Now you can not just quietly retire, but also make fans brush away a tear. There is no second Poiret and, apparently, will not be. However, the French should not be discouraged. In the same individual race after Raphael, Simon Fourcade finished.
Martina Glagov fell ill all January, sacrificing home stages of the World Cup, and boosted training for the sake of one, but the most important start in Anterselva. The Germans as a whole team approached the World Cup in some kind of crazy, alien, uniform. The stage in Lahti showed that Uwe Mussigang's wards did not intend to slow down. They won all three races. Molly was absolutely the best: she won the sprint and the pursuit. Three-time Olympic champion Katie Wilhelm did not win anything, but nevertheless she went up to the podium three times. Now she is the best biathlete in the overall World Cup.
OUR
Ekaterina Yurieva surprised at the World Cup, showing the most stable shooting, the strongest nerves and the greatest desire. Today, her relay embarrassment at the stage in Oberhof, when Katya was frightened by formidable rivals, was upset due to numerous misses and managed to mix up the finish corridor, looks like an exam for endurance. She stood it. In Lahti, Katya hit the podium for the first time in her career. In the sprint, purely two firing lines passed and only six seconds lost to the winner - Martin Glagov. In the pursuit, Yuryev could also be at least third, but at the finish she lost in speed to the more frisky Germans - Catherine Hitzer and Andrea Henkel.
SURPRISE
Norwegian youth. In the absence of Bjoerndalen, who tried unsuccessfully to win a medal at the Sapporo World Ski Championships, yesterday's understudies Alexander Os and Hans-Martin Giedrem became free. In the sprint, they shot without a slip and almost pressed the top step of Rafael Poiret, who caught the courage and took a star from the sky. Os made his way to the national team of Norway from the beginning of the season, but for the time being did not shine. The turning point was the European Championship in Bulgaria, where Alexander proved himself to be a real Viking and the leader of the team. In the pursuit, Os traded second place in the sprint for a more modest sixth, but was not upset. He never achieved such successes anyway.
QUOTE
“Am I talking to the whole country now?” Not? Then I’ll say ... I’m just ecstatic! ”- Ekaterina Yuryeva, winner of the World Cup stage, in an interview with the Sovetsky Sport newspaper, very succinctly expressed her emotions about the first podium in her career.
NUMERAL
10 firing lines were overcome by each participant of all races in Lahti. Only two, like Rafael Poiret, missed Ivan Cherezov, but never hit the medalists. In pursuit, the Russian took a high fifth place. The rest of our compatriots came out even worse. Now all hopes are connected with the stage of the World Cup in Holmenkollen, which starts exactly on International Women's Day.