Martin Uldal’s record-breaking shooting speed was the talk of the Hochfilzen World Cup last weekend. Behind it is an exceptional solution even before the actual shooting.
A lesser-known Norwegian biathlete Martin Uldal beat the crowd on Saturday at the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen. He fired all five shots in just 12.9 seconds from the vertical. The matter is reported by the Norwegian broadcasting company NRK.
– That must be a world record, Uldal’s compatriot and biathlon’s biggest star John Thingnes Bo stated to the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
– You can even win one penalty round there.
Johannes Thingnes Bö, who has dominated men’s biathlon in recent years, says that he has never been able to do the same himself. On Saturday, Uldal was 3.6 seconds faster than France, who recorded the second fastest individual shooting time Quentin Fillon Maillet.
Competition Manager Borut Nunar there was also no belief in Uldal’s time until NRK had shown the situation on video. The measured time had been correct.
In that situation, Uldal missed one shot and fought Sweden for fourth place Sebastian Samuelsson against. Uldal finished fifth in the final stretch, even though he had a margin of more than 10 seconds over Samuelsson at the shooting location.
Uldal himself spoke about his desire to be on the screen in an interview with NRK. He had wanted to show how fast he can shoot. In Uldal’s opinion, 19-second shootings are praised a lot. At the beginning of the year, Uldal, who won the bronze medal at the European Championship with a normal distance, wants to set new standards.
– It’s really great that people can really see how fast I am, 23-year-old Uldal proudly stated according to NRK.
Kaisa Mäkäräinen opens the backgrounds
Sports expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen describes Uldal’s shooting as shockingly fast.
– Shooting times have been speeding up all the time. Athletes clearly think more about how to speed up shooting, says Mäkäräinen.
Mäkäräinen also describes Uldal’s trick as a bold move.
– I’ve been watching on the bench during summer training when some people shoot that fast. Who can do that in a competitive situation under pressure and stress? The stakes are completely different, Mäkäräinen describes the challenge of the situation.
Uldal shot in the record moment with a really good rhythm. Uldal seeks an advantage especially from what happens before a single shot.
Uldal’s extremely fast shooting is based on his unusual way of taking the weapon off his back. An example of that was already seen in the first race of the weekend in Hochfilzen on a fast track.
– Uldal has an original way of taking the gun off his back. When you usually take the gun off your back, you grab the barrel of the gun. He grabs the butt of the gun. He can spin the gun away faster. A few moves are left out, Mäkäräinen opens.