- Lena Häcki-Gross finished fourth in the sprint in Hochfilzen and achieved her best result over the short distance.
- Among the men, Joscha Burkhalter’s 25th place is considered the best Swiss result.
It almost worked out at the start of the World Cup weekend in Hochfilzen with the first Swiss biathlon podium of the season. The Engelberg woman once again became one of the strongest athletes on the cross-country skiing track. Ultimately, a standing shooting error cost the 28-year-old a place on the podium, which she narrowly missed.
Häcki-Gross crossed the finish line in fourth place. She was only 0.3 seconds behind Frenchwoman Justine Brisaz Bouchet and third place. For the Swiss team leader, this is the best World Cup result in the sprint event. In December 2018, Lena Hakki Gross finished fifth in Nove Mesto.
Three other Swiss women are in the hunt
The remaining Swiss players failed to achieve a significant result, but qualified for Saturday’s chase. Elissa Gasparin placed 32nd with two shooting errors, sister Aita Gasparin placed 39th with the same shooting performance, and Florina Volken placed 50th with a missed goal, meaning she will also be there on Saturday. Amy Baserga decided not to start.
The win in Tyrol went to Norwegian Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who cleared all 10 goals and kept Sweden’s Elvira Öberg at bay by less than 5 seconds.
The Swiss miss the top 20
Meanwhile, the Swiss missed out on a major result in the sprint race. In the absence of team leader Niklas Hartwig, who left Austria for health reasons, Joscha Burkhalter was the best of the Swiss trio at the start in 25th place.
Like Bernese Oberlander, who saved all 10 goals, Sebastian Stalder also finished 30th in World Cup points after one penalty kick. Jeremy Fenello (4 penalties) still secures the right to start the chase on Saturday in 51st place.
At the top, Tarjei Bö celebrated Norway’s double win against compatriot Sturla Holm Lägreid. Both athletes passed the match without any shooting errors. This cannot be said about Tärje’s brother, Johannes Thingnes Bö. With 3 missed shots, last year’s Dominator, who is still waiting for his first win of the season, managed only 11th place.
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