Finland Wins, Germany Disqualified in Nove Mesto Single Mixed Relay
Finland’s team of Tero Seppala and Suvi Minkkinen won this afternoon’s Nove Mesto single Mixed Relay after the German duo of Leonhard Pfund and Marlene Fichtner were disqualified for a rule's violation. The 34:59.8 victory was the second-ever for Finland and the Seppala/Minkkinen duo who used eight spare rounds.
Disqualification Explained
IBU Race director Borut Nunar explained the jury decision that disqualified the German team of Leonhard Pfund and Marlene Fichtner. “The German team athlete after her second prone shooting did not put her rifle on the back properly, both arms not in the harness, a violation of the safety regulations at the shooting range…The regulations on the shooting range are fairly strict, so after the review of the whole procedure one more time, it was actually clear. She simply did not put one arm through the harness like it should be, so he rifle was actually on only one shoulder and one arm through the harness. That was the main reason.”
France’s Emilien Claude teamed up with Jeanne Richard for second place, using six spares, 11.3 seconds back. Norway with Marrtin Nevland and Juni Arnekleiv, with eight spares finished third, 16.7 seconds back.
Switzerland, with ten spares finished fourth, 35.7 seconds back, edging Ukraine with twelve spares by .2 seconds. Czechia, with a penalty and thirteen spares finished sixth, 1:02.8 back.
Frosty Afternoon
A frosty, minus one afternoon, with again light winds greeted the 24 teams in the competition. The top four teams all cleaned the first prone with Norway in the lead. Richard shot clean and Minkkinen used a spare in standing with Finland taking a 1-second lead at the first exchange.
Everyone used spare in the second leg, but Seppala cleaned his standing stage first, giving his partner a 7-second lead at the exchange over Ukraine and France.
2025/26 BMW IBU World Cup 6 Nove Mesto na Morave Single Mixed Relay
Two Spares for Seppala; Victory Secured
Although she needed a spare to clean prone and standing, Minkkinen stretched the lead over Ukraine and France to 11.8 seconds over Norway and France, even at the final exchange.
Seppala used a spare in prone and one final spare in standing sealing Finland’s victory.
Photos: IBU/Jaroslav Svoboda, Yevenko, Nordic Focus
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