On the last day of the Junior Open European Championships 2022, the top 60 athletes from yesterday’s Sprints competed for the podium in Junior Women and Men Pursuit. The weather conditions were much kinder to the athletes, with sunshine on the tracks and less wind on the range. Selina Grotian is leaving Pokljuka with two gold medals while Paul Fontaine outclassed the field with a stunning 20/20 pursuit victory.

Double win for Grotian

Selina Grotian started the Pursuit with a 41-second advantage ahead of her rivals. She managed to keep the lead until the second shooting, where she missed twice and left the penalty loop in fifth position. She cleared all remaining targets during the second half of the competition and got back in the first position ahead of the final loop. She crossed the finish line 25.5 seconds ahead of her opponents and is going home with two individual wins. "I just can't believe it. I can't describe in words how it feels. I want to thank all the technicians because my skis were unbelievable and the whole team for the spirit here in Pokljuka," says the 17 years-old German.

France’s Jeanne Richard also missed two targets and left the final shooting together with Grotian’s teammate Lisa Maria Spark, who shot 19/20. It was Richard, who had more power in the last loop, adding the second silver medal to her collection (after the Individual). Spark showed the best pursuit time and earned her first medal from the JOECH, increasing the total number of medals for Germany to 5 after the women’s part.

20/20 perfection for Fontaine

In the afternoon, Jonas Marecek felt the rest of the field breathing down his neck from the start, with the first six athletes starting within 21 seconds. Yesterday’s sprint winner held on to the lead until the second prone, where he had two costly mistakes. Paul Fontaine, starting with bib #5, managed to hit all 10 prone targets and took the lead at the halfway stage. The young Frenchman built on his prone with an equally impressive clean standing shooting, increasing his lead all the way until the end of the competition. On the last loop, the 22-year-old was able to cruise to victory in 34:28.3.

Otto Invenius was able to rely on his ski speed to make up for 4 mistakes at the shooting range. At the last standing stage, the Finnish talent found the all-important zero and jumped from fifth place to second place – backing up his silver medal in the Sprint. Jan Gunka climbed up the rankings slowly but surely throughout the pursuit and held on to third place despite a penalty loop after the final standing. Gunka would up with the second-fastest pursuit time of the day, only beating by a supreme Paul Fontaine.

The Junior Cup will now take a little break and will resume on 23 February with the first competitions of Youth and Junior World Championships in Soldier Hollow (US).