The Finnish mixed relay team experienced a hard fate in Anterselva at the Biathlon World Cup, when the team was flagged off the course in the third leg. The team will compete with the composition Venla Lehtonen, Noora Kaisa Keränen, Olli Hiidensalo and Tuomas Harjula.
The Finnish race was ruined at the very beginning, when Lehtonen had to go around two penalty rounds in the opening leg.
In the post, competitors have three spare cartridges at their disposal at each shooting location. Only after this do you have to go through penalty rounds if there is a spot left standing.
In the second leg, Keränen survived with one spare cartridge, and in the third leg, Hiidensalo used four spare cartridges.
Sports expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen was surprised by the level of the competition, as no less than 11 teams were passed in the round and only 12 teams crossed the finish line. Of these teams, Norway was superior, Italy came second and Sweden third.
– A lot of teams were kicked out of the game, and not all men even got to ski, Mäkäräinen stated.
Mäkäräi was particularly saddened by the fate of the anchor of the Finnish team, Tuomas Harjula. He didn’t even get to start.
– In this message, we specifically wanted to see the power relationship between Olli Hiidensalo and Tuomas Harjula in relation to the World Championships. Tuomas has been in Anterselva all week, as if waiting for this message. Unfortunately, the women’s shares differed so much that it was not possible to measure the men’s power relations.
Venla Lehtonen wiped away tears before the interview with Urheilu. He did well in the first shooting, but after that the package fell apart.
– It was easy weather now and I thought I’ll just do my own thing, that’s enough. I can’t really say what happened when that shooting felt really good, Lehtonen said and sighed deeply.
– It was really bad. It’s a shame when the message, and the opening part, is really important. After all, that’s two penalty rounds too many.
Lehtonen was in trouble on the shooting bench in yesterday’s shortened normal competition. He shot a total of seven misses and was ranked 73rd.
– After yesterday, I wanted to show myself that I have this job under control, so it didn’t taste terribly good.
In the paired message, “believe is a creative performance”
Suvi Minkkinen and Otto Invenius instead, they succeeded perfectly in the pair relay. The Finnish duo finished sixth. According to Minkkinen, there was one athlete in bad shape and one athlete in good shape in the ring today.
– It wasn’t even a terribly good performance on the bench, but in the end, the top is not far away when you get in shape. A few more shots in. A belief-creating performance, Minkkinen stated.
– It was a good day. Such a school grade could be good. The shooting went well, only two spares. There is still room for a little hope in skiing. No letter was found there yet, Invenius commented.
For Minkki, today’s distance was better than yesterday’s 12.5 kilometers, and he was able to ski in his strength area. On the shooting range, he took a small risk in vertical shooting.
– After the second miss, I calmed down. There was nothing wrong with that. In the second upright, I was already so tight that I started to get nervous that this is how the vibration will come. But at least better than yesterday, Minkkinen said.
Invenius will still start in the joint start race on Sunday. Invenius, which has been in a good mood lately, hopes that the pace will continue in the same way. In Thursday’s shortened normal competition, he achieved a career best after being 11th at the time.
– I’m going to do some good shooting. I hope that the mood of the day is good, then I would stay in the hoses and be able to catch up with others. I’m going to get the best of my career, let’s see how it goes.
Couple message
1. Germany 38.58,0 (0+1)
Vanessa Voigt, Justus Strelow
2. Norway +11.2 (0+8)
Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen
3. Austria +28.3 (0+4)
Lisa Theresa Hauser, Simon Eder
4. Italy +37.9 (1+6)
5. Latvia +39.1 (1+6)
6. Finland +41.4 (0+7)
Suvi Minkkinen, Otto Invenius
7. France +1.00,1 (2+10)
8. Estonia +1.05,8 (1+9)
9. USA +1.09,5 (2+7)
10. Ukraine +1.09,9 (0+6)
Mixed message
1. Norway 1.04.36.3 (0+8)
Juni Arnekleiv, Karoline Offigstad Knotten, Tarjei Bö, Johannes Thingnes Bö
2. Italy +22.3 (0+5)
Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi, Didier Bionaz, Tommaso Giacomel
3. Sweden +1.07,8 (0+9)
Anna Magnusson, Elvira Öberg, Jesper Nelin, Martin Ponsiluoma
4. Switzerland +1.20.6 (0+8)
5. France +1.33,5 0+6)
6. Czech Republic +2.16,6 (1+10)
7. Austria +2.42,7 (0+4)
8. Germany +3.04.6 (2+12)
9. Ukraine +3.19.7 (0+12)
10. Bulgaria +4.03,3 (0+4)
….
16. Finland (2+8)
Venla Lehtonen, Noora Kaisa Keränen, Olli Hiidensalo, Tuomas Harjula
Repair at 19:40. In the second leg, Noora Kaisa Keränen did not have to go around one penalty lap, but used one spare cartridge.