Finland’s biathlon men finished sixth in the Kontiolahti World Cup relay, their best finish in no less than 20 years.
The Finnish team where they skied Jaakko Ranta, Tuomas Harjula, Tero Seppälä and Olli Hiidensalowas more than two and a half minutes behind Norway, who won the relay.
Last year, the Finnish men were at best seventh in the relay, which was also the best ranking in a long time.
– You don’t get too many of these places. The last time it was better than this was in 2002, fourth place in Lahti. This was an absolutely great post. Even though there was a penalty round, we were still among the six, Urheilu’s expert Ville Kotikumpu glowed.
Finnish anchor Olli Hiidensalo’s moods were divided, however. Hiidensalo was about to cross the finish line in fifth place, until the Czech anchor he had already passed Jonas Marecek hit the eye of a new gear and raced past in the last meters. The difference at the finish was only 0.2 seconds.
Marecek started the last lap with a good lead, but surprisingly Hiidensalo caught him before the final straight.
– At the end of the flat, I thought that I had to pass. 50 meters before the finish line I thought that this is clear and I can put the “cruise control” on. After all, when that guy came from there, we didn’t have time to change the rhythm anymore, Hiidensalo regretted.
Kotikumpu estimates that the result could have been different if Hiidensalo had realized to start his streak earlier.
– Olli is usually good at the end, but maybe now there was a small careless mistake. Olli came from behind and saw that the guy was already skiing with his back up. When he passed the Czech, perhaps he thought it was no longer a concern and decided to ski to the finish. When Olli then saw that his friend’s ski was approaching from the right, there was nothing more that could be done, Kotikumpu said.
What makes the sixth place exceptionally good is that Finland used 12 spare cartridges and avoided one penalty round. That’s a lot, said the expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen in the newsroom.
Tero Seppälä, who had to go to the penalty round after a vertical position, showed his own shooting performance. He used four spare cartridges.
– Vertical shooting doesn’t really work. It must now be translated. Fortunately, I know the home track well enough to know how to ski it. I hit the last kilometer and furiously took back the seconds I lost on the bench.
According to Hiidensalo, Finland got good farts, which is usually not available in worse places.
– Overall, we have taken a step forward. Even though we shot spare cartridges and had one penalty, we still got a good place. We can still afford to screw up. There was still a long way to go to the podium today. I don’t think there’s any need to bow down, says Hiidensalo.
The women’s relay ended with an overwhelming victory for Sweden. Germany came in second ahead of Norway. The Finnish team, which finished seventh, skied Suvi Minkkinen, Nastassia Kinnunen, Mari Eder and Erika Jänkä.
Eder was satisfied with the performance of the Finnish women. Finland used ten spare cartridges and avoided one penalty round.
– During my career, there has never been such a tight spot in the relay. It does feel good and warms the mind. The team is in good shape, Eder said.
Expert Ville Kotikumpu gives the Finnish men’s and women’s relay teams a rating of “good plus”.
– Such openings have not been made in messages for years. It seems that the team has moved forward. I have to remember that in both posts there was a penalty round, so no super performance was done. I expect even better this season, Kotikumpu said.