Strong biathlete in the sprint – 4th place: Best result for Weger in Kontiolahti – Sport

• In the 10km sprint at Kontiolahti, Benjamin Weger shines with fourth place.
• Valais hit all 10 shots.
• For women, Aita Gasparin is the best Swiss woman in 32nd place in 7.5 km.

Starting number 13 brought Benjamin Weger good luck: the Valais biathlete had an excellent sprint performance at Kontiolahti and finished fourth in the third race of the season, Weger missed the fifth podium of his career by 6.5 seconds.

Weger impressed on the cross-country ski trail and shone on the shooting range, where he took all 10 shots on target. The 31-year-old veteran only had to admit defeat to Norwegian victor Tarjei Bö, his brother Johannes Tignes Bö (3rd) and German Arnd Peiffer (2nd).

The last time Weger raced in fourth place was before last winter in the Nove-Mesto sprint in the Czech Republic. The last of his 4 podiums was 9 years ago. At that time, Weger also reached third place in the sprint at Kontiolahti.

18 points for Finello

Jeremy Finello also ran a good race in the shadow of Weger. The 28-year-old from western Switzerland made two foot errors, but finished 23rd. This not only entitles Finello to start the chase race on Saturday, but also gives Finello 18 points for the World Cup.

Swiss women miss out on exploitation

The Swiss women were unable to take advantage of the performance of Weger and Finello in the sprint of more than 7.5 km. Aita Gasparin ran to 32nd place with a miss. Elisa Gasparin secured just shy of World Cup points in 36th place.

World Cup leader Hanna Öberg of Sweden won by almost 10 seconds ahead of France’s Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet. Elvira Öberg completed the podium. For the winner’s younger sister, it is the best result of the World Cup.