Loginov defends the title; this year, Norwegians always at the top

On Friday, biathletes will compete in the first individual race of the IBU World Championships Biathlon 2021 Pokljuka. This will be the shortest men’s event, Sprint, where athletes shoot only twice, once in the prone position and once in the standing position. The first favourite is Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bø.

His most fierce competition comes from his teammates. All six Sprints of the season were in fact won by Norwegians, half of them by Johannes Thingnes Bø who was twice also third. Tarjei Bø, Johannes Dale and Sturla Holm Lægreid have one Sprint win of this season each.

The leading biathlete of the season, Johannes Thingnes Bø, who won gold in the first event of the World Championships in Mixed Relay, is relaxed before the next races: “I will try to relax, and stay calm. That’s important to make good results day after day.”

At the last year’s World Championships, Russian Alexander Loginov won the title. At the moment, Loginov is the 17^th biathlete of the season. The second and third place went to French athletes, Quentin Fillon Maillet, the fifth biathlete of the season who was second once this season, and already retired Martin Fourcade, one of the biggest stars of this sport in history.

The first weapon of the home team is Jakov Fak, who is at the ninth place in the World Cup, and in the Sprint, he was fifth and sixth at the beginning of the season in Kontiolahti. In Pokljuka, in the Mixed Relay, he has already confirmed good form. “The track is difficult. A race like a Mixed Relay can help achieve a good individual performance, as we have an interesting rhythm at the World Championships: rest – race, rest – race,” says Fak.
Start is at 14:30.