The IBU Cup continued in Obertilliach with sprint competitions. Clean-shooting Philipp Nawrath of Germany dominated the men's 10 km, finishing in 23:19.9. Emilie Aagheim Kalkenberg of Norway and Anastasiia Egorova of Russia both shot clean in the women's 7.5 km sprint, while tying first place in 20:12.6.

Men’s competition

Despite one miss, Norway’s Alexander Fjeld Andersen finished second, 27.2 seconds behind Nawrath. Clean-shooting Hugo Rivail of France finished third, 33.3 seconds back.

Nawrath shows power

Nawrath was unbeatable, dominating from the start. Entering prone as the leader, Nawrath confidently cleaned with ease, 2.8 seconds ahead also clean-shooting A. F. Andersen. Rivail, also cleaned, leaving in fourth allowing Germany's Dominik Schmuck to come between him and the Norwegian. . Even though the gap was not that big between Nawrath and Andersen after the prone, things became clear after the standing. Nawrath pushed his lead out to 20.8-seconds after the second shooting and retained his advantage through the finish for the victory.

With today’s result, Nawrath moved into the lead in the Men's IBU Cup Total Score.

🇩🇪 Philipp Nawrath: "Before the race I felt nervous because of the overall score, but I was excited. The strategy was to start not so fast and to shoot clean and safe. I feel very good. It is great for me to win here!" #IBUCup
📸 Deubert/IBU pic.twitter.com/qfPGWtMLnr

— IBU Cup Biathlon (@IBUCUP) March 12, 2021

The fight for the second place

With Nawrath out of the way and no question about the winner, the battle was on for the other two steps of the podium. A. F. Andersen earned one penalty in standing leaving in third. Clean-shooting Schmuck however managed to climb to second position, just 0.4 seconds ahead the Norwegian. Although shooting clean, Rivail fell fourth. With a better final lap, A. F. Andersen closed the gap on Schmuck to claim second place. With the German slowing down, Rivail moved into third place.

Seven-man flower ceremony

Two additional ties completed the top six resulting in seven men at the flower ceremony. Erlend Bjoentegaard of Norway with one penalty and clean-shooting Dominik Schmuck of Germany, tied on fourth place 35.6 seconds back. Norway’s Filip Fjeld Andersen and Haavard Gutuboe Bogetveit, both missing once, tied for sixth place 39.6 six second back.

Women’s competition

IBU Junior World Championships medalist Rebecca Passler of Italy, shooting clean finished third, 15.6 seconds behind the winning duo. Also shooting clean Norway’s Juni Arnekleiv finished 21 seconds back in fourth place. Sweden’s Elisabeth Hoegberg, with one penalty finished fifth, 21.7 seconds back. Elizaveta Kaplina of Russia also closed all the targets in sixth place, 24.6 seconds back.

First place tie

Ninth after her clean prone stage, Kalkenberg was 14 seconds behind the leading Natalia Gerbulova of Russia. Egorova, in sixth along with Anastasia Shevchenko and Arnekleiv was 13.1 seconds behind the leader. Passler, at the same time, was as far back as 19th, despite five perfect shots, 21.1 seconds behind.

Still in the lead before standing, Gerbulova missed three times, falling out from the competition for the top places. With her teammate out, Egorova used the chance. She cleaned standing, taking a 2.8-second lead over the Norwegian. Widening the gap by the 6.2 km split time, Egorova was sure of the win. However, she was not fast enough; losing seconds just before the finish, Egorova crossed the line with the exact same time as Kalkenberg resulting in the first place tie. Passler, fifth after the standing bout, climbed to third.

🇷🇺 A. Egorova: "The coaches told me that I had a 4-second lead. I thought that the gap would be bigger in the finish, but I think I lost the advantage in the last meters before the finish. I’m very happy that I managed to keep the first position."#IBUCup
📸 Deubert/IBU pic.twitter.com/YdL7K8p3el

— IBU Cup Biathlon (@IBUCUP) March 12, 2021

🇳🇴E. A. Kalkenberg: "I’m really happy with my race today. I was not sure if it was good enough for the win because we have so many good athletes here. But it is really cool that I shared the win, it is really special that we can have exactly the same time!" #IBUCup📸 Deubert/IBU pic.twitter.com/nryhWGIbaj

— IBU Cup Biathlon (@IBUCUP) March 12, 2021

Voigt secures the Total Score Crystal Globe

13th today, Vanessa Voigt of Germany, despite one more individual competition ahead, secured herself the IBU Cup Total Score Crystal Globe.

Photos: Harald Deubert / IBU