Simon wins the sprint in Otepää, Külm achieves career-best result

On the second competition day of the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Otepää, held at Tehvandi Sports Centre from 12 to 15 March, the women’s 7.5 km sprint took place. Julia Simon claimed victory, while Estonia’s best result came from Susan Külm, who finished in 10th place.

Gold medallist Julia Simon shot clean (0+0) and crossed the finish line 2.9 seconds ahead of Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi, who placed second (0+0; +2.9). Third place went to the overall World Cup leader, France’s Lou Jeanmonnot (0+0; +22.9). After the finish, silver medallist Lisa Vittozzi said it had been a tough race, but one she enjoyed very much. “I was especially pleased with my shooting. It was not easy in the shooting range, but when I saw the athlete who started before me shoot clean, I believed that I could do the same,” said Vittozzi.

The best result among the Estonians came from Susan Külm (0+0; +1:09.0), who finished 10th and recorded the best World Cup result of her career. “Today, the home-course gods were on my side. I had some luck on the range, and I’m so happy those targets went down,” she said. In the difficult snow conditions, Külm had to work hard on the course. “I really had to slalom a lot to avoid getting stuck in the wet snow. I gave my maximum on the course, and I have to be satisfied with that,” said Külm. She also highlighted the support from the home crowd. “The cheering was loud and it was truly amazing. A huge thank you to everyone who came,” she said. Looking ahead to Saturday’s pursuit, Külm said she will take with her above all the confidence from her clean shooting and the experience of performing in front of a large home crowd.

Regina Ermits finished 74th (3+1; +3:15.4), Kretel Kaljumäe was 89th (0+1; +3:59.9), and Johanna Talihärm placed 101st (2+3; +5:08.4).