Even Latypov would envy such speed. What has the leader of the Biathlon World Championship done?
Andrey Shitikhin January 5, 2024, 18:36 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In the last lap, the Frenchwoman Bréza-Boucher recovered 24 seconds from the German Preuss and won.
The 2023/2024 Biathlon World Cup in gloomy and warm Oberhof continued with the women’s sprint.
The winner of the race was the leader of the overall World Cup classification, Frenchwoman Justine Brezat-Boucher. She did what the Norwegian Johannes Boe could not do in the men’s race: he won with two penalties, demonstrating unreal speed over the distance.
Breza-Boucher once again demonstrated amazing preparation and proved that she is the frontrunner for the Big Crystal Globe. With two penalties, even Johannes Boe could not get a medal in the men’s sprint, and Justine left the same number of goals on the court. After leaving the second shooting range she was 24.1 seconds behind the German Franziska Preuss, who was absolutely precise in her field of play. Additionally, Breza-Boucher ran an additional 300 meters. But the Frenchwoman, apparently, only allowed herself to be provoked. She sank as if she had been caught on a snowmobile.
Biathlon World Cup – 2023/2024
Photo: Kevin Voigt/Getty Images
Live streams of World Cup races are available on Okko.
During the last lap, Breza-Boucher gained almost 29 seconds on his opponent! Even the best biathlete in Russia, Eduard Latypov, who also knows how to take on any rival in the last lap, would be jealous of such speed. No one could compete with a Frenchwoman like that for victory.
And no one threatened Preuss’ second place. Or rather, there were enough contenders, but in the end everyone was left behind. However, there was a biathlete who forced the German to observe her arrival very closely. Frenchwoman Sophie Chauveau reached the finish line very quickly with a penalty, but she still lost two tenths of a second to Preuss.
For Chauveau, 24, this is the first time he has been on the podium at a World Championship. Last season in Annecy she finished in the top six twice: in the sprint and in the mass start. Overall, the French women took five places in the top ten.
It was simply a fantastic debut for 21-year-old Jeanne Richard, who was brilliant at junior level. She did not make any mistakes and managed to overtake her teammates Lou Jeanmonneau and Julia Simon, who had already won World Cup stages more than once. The only Norwegian to finish in the top ten was Caroline Knotten, and the leader of the sprint classification, Ingrid Tandrevold, was only in 17th place.
How was the men’s sprint in Oberhof:
The Oberhof biathlete snipers were left without medals! Johannes Boe – just with a piece of wood
