World Cup leader Bö was about to leave the race, but finally skied to the finish line. The ranking was the worst of his career.
At the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, a special situation was seen on the men’s normal course on Wednesday.
First, the superstar of the sport Johannes Thingnes Bö knocked down all the boards in the last shooting position with super-fast shooting in 20 seconds, then waved to the crowd and started skiing at a jogging pace, looking around.
The five-time Olympic champion was disappointed in his race, as he had shot a total of five penalties from previous places.
It already looked like he would leave the race completely. After Bö, France started from the upright position Emilien Jacquelin noticed the Norwegian’s demeanor and demanded the leader of the overall World Cup race to continue.
Bö decided to listen to the Frenchman and calmly skied to the finish finishing 85th, which is the lowest ranking of his career in the World Cup. 115 men participated in the race.
– Many have come here to see the great Johannes Thingnes Bö. Even though he didn’t have his best day today, he is still the best ever and many want to see him compete, Jacquelin said to NRK.
– It was important to me that he continued the race. Fortunately, he did.
“This must be forgotten quickly”
Bö, who was ill at Christmas time, said after the race that the flu still affects his performance, even though he was third last week in Oberhof’s pursuit.
– Both skiing and shooting messed up. There was no point in continuing. You just have to forget this quickly, Bö acknowledged to SVT.
SVT expert Bjorn Ferry wondered Bö at the end of the race. World Cup points were distributed to the best 40. Bö was in 58th place when he left the shooting range for the last time.
– This is a bit strange, he could have got some World Cup points if he had pressed in the last round.
Bön beating his countryman Vebjörn Sörum took his first World Cup victory by 52 seconds over second-placed France Emilie to Claude. Latvian Andrejs Rastorgujevs was third.
– This is the best biathlon performance of my life. You see how much it means. My father was in the stands today, a tearful Sörum expressed.
The race also saw Finnish success, when he reached the best ranking of his career in the individual competitions Otto Invenius was seventh.
The women’s 15 km normal distance will be contested in Ruhpolding today, Thursday. There are four Finns Suvi Minkkinen under. The broadcast starts on TV2 at 15:05.
1. Vebjörn Sörum NOR 47.30,0 0
2. Emilien Claude FRA + 52.1 0
3. Andrejs Rastorgujevs LAT + 56.8 1
4. Niklas Hartweg SUI +1.20,5 1
5. Vitezslav Hornig CZE +1.31,3 0
6. Sebastian Samuelsson SWE +1.42,0 2
7. Otto Invenius FIN +1.43,2 0
8. Johannes Dale NOR +1.51,0 2
9. David Komatz AUT +1.58,8 0
10. Joscha Burkhalter SUI +2.00,4 1
40. Tero Seppälä FIN +4.16,1 4
49. Jaakko Ranta FIN +4.47,1 2
64. Arttu Heikkinen FIN +5.44,0 3
87. Jimi Klemettinen FIN +8.02,8 5
Updated at 9:34: Seventh place is Invenius’ best in individual World Cup competitions. He was third in the medley relay last season.