Kebinger and Jorde take Pokljuka’s first Sprint

Hanna Kebinger of Germany and Sindre Fjellheim Jorde of Norway are the winners of the first day of Sprints at the IBU Cup in Pokljuka. Kebinger won for the first time in the IBU Cup this season. For Jorde it was a second win in two days.

Powerful skiing brings Kebinger a win

Kebinger missed once in the prone but then stepped up her skiing speed. Five closed targets in the standing opened the door for the 25-year-old on a day when no Top 6 finisher had a perfect shooting score. Karoline Erdal of Norway, with 9/10, finished second, 17.2 seconds behind Kebinger and just 1.2 seconds ahead of Michela Carrara of Italy, who missed the 10th shot.

“I believed in myself from the first meter and kept my skiing on a steady fast level. Biathlon is a game of small margins, and today it worked out for me. Winning in just my second competition this season gives me a lot of satisfaction,” said Kebinger.

Paula Botet of France missed one shot in the standing for fourth place, 24.2 seconds behind the winner from Germany. Stina Nilsson from Sweden, still looking for a stable shooting form in 2022/2023, missed once in each shooting stage for fifth place, 25.5 seconds back. Juni Arnekleiv of Norway, with 9/10, rounded up the flower ceremony, 27.7 seconds behind Kebinger.

Gilonne Guigonnat goes into the last day of the competitions in Pokljuka as the Total Score leader with 434 points.

IBU Cup Pokljuka - Sprints 1

A perfect biathlon day for Jorde

Jorde combined the fastest time on the shooting range with the fifth-fastest skiing performance on the tracks for his second Sprint win in the IBU Cup. His previous win came in Brezno-Osrblie last winter.

“It was a perfect biathlon day for me. I was the fastest on the shooting range, among the best skiers. And it had to be like that, for I was chased by four teammates who can win on any given day,” said Jorde

Jorde doubled down on his win in the Short Individual with a stellar performance in the Sprint for another triumph in Pokljuka in 24:45.2. Fratzscher finished second, just nine seconds behind the winner from Norway. Jorde and Fratzscher shot 10/10. Soerum missed one shot in the prone and crossed the finish line as third, 33.4 seconds behind his teammate Jorde. He skied the fastest final lap of the day.

Endre Stroemsheim, Mats Oeverby, and Aleksander Fjeld Andersen, all of Norway, finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, intensifying their internal battle for places in the Norwegian IBU Cup squad. Oeverby had one miss, Stroemsheim and Andersen two.

Stroemsheim extended his stay atop of the Total Score standings. He has points 104 advantage over Oeverby.

Photo: IBU/H. Deubert

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