The second day of competition at the IBU Para Biathlon World Cup in Notschrei belonged to Team China. Their athletes claimed four victories and reached the podium in all six categories, sending a clear message ahead of the Paralympic Games in Val di Fiemme.

Saturday’s programme featured the Sprint Pursuit at the Schwarzwald Nordic Center. The day began with a morning Sprint, which determined the starting order for the afternoon Pursuit. Athletes in each category who finished within 30 percent of the winner’s time qualified for the final. Both races were contested over a 4km distance, but the Sprint applied a 20-second time penalty for each missed shot, while shooting errors in the Pursuit resulted in penalty loops. It’s the only para biathlon format contested head-to-head, with the winner being the first athlete across the finish line. China set the tone early in the men’s sitting category, where Zixu Liu secured his second consecutive victory ahead of Tao Wang, with Mengtao Liu in third - a sign of what was still to come.

China’s next win followed in the women’s standing category, where Yujie Guo ended Natalie Wilkie’s winning streak that had lasted since the start of the season. The outcome was already hinted at in qualification, where the Canadian was only fourth. Although Wilkie gained two positions, she still finished 32 seconds behind Guo. Zhiqing Zhao completed the podium after starting the pursuit in first position.

The Chinese team also proved dominant in the vision impaired categories. In the men’s race, Shuang Yu prevailed in the finishing straight against Germany’s Nico Messinger, while Yue Wang claimed victory in the women’s competition, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Johanna Recktenwald.

Notschrei fans were close to witnessing another Chinese victory, but home favourite Marco Maier had other plans. In the men’s standing category, the German overtook Jiayun Cai in the final meters to secure his first World Cup win in nearly three years. Training daily at the venue, Maier made full use of his familiarity with the course and timed his attack perfectly. Mark Arendz finished third, having lost his chance to extend his winning streak after placing sixth in qualification.

In the women’s sitting category, Oksana Masters once again underlined her dominance, winning both the Sprint and the Pursuit. Despite skiing a penalty loop in the final race, she held off a flawless Anja Wicker by 55 seconds. Yilin Shan finished third, nearly two minutes behind the winner.

Sunday’s 7.5km Sprint races will conclude the competition in Notschrei. The World Cup circuit will then move on to Jakuszyce, where the next races are scheduled to begin on January 22.

Photos: Reichert | IBU