Results of the first sprint at the World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě? Markéta Davidová took the bronze!
The first race of the 7th round of the World Cup series in Nové Město na Moravě is over. At five thirty in the afternoon, women started into sprint with the length of 7.5 km. The weather was mild and sunny from morning, and it had an impact on the quality of snow on the track. Moreover, gusty wind begun to blow later in the afternoon, which meant that 98 biathletes could expect a difficult race. Among the Czech women, Markéta Davidová was the best to deal with the conditions and took the bronze from the sprint!
Denise Hermann took the gold with time of 18 minutes and 51 seconds. The German racer who started with number 3 on her bib, did not make a single mistake at the shooting range. She came to the finish as the first racer, and no contestant from the field managed to get ahead of her. The silver went to Anais Bescond of France, who was 27 seconds slower than the German.
Brilliant performance and great concentration brought the bronze medal to Markéta Davidová. The Czech racer missed the very first target in the first prone position but did not make any other mistake. She was lucky, too. The last shot in standing position hit the edge of the target… but the target showed the white side. Luckily. In Nové Město, Markéta therefore followed up on her bronzes from sprints in Oestersund and Annecy or mix in Anterselva.
“I am satisfied with my performance today. Looks like I am living a bronze season, and I am glad for it, naturally. It is sad that it has happened in an empty stadium,” Markéta Davidová said. Last year in Nové Město na Moravě, Markéta had not succeeded in sprint, had not qualified for the pursuit race. It had been so painful that she had cried. The situation has turned for the better this year. “I cried a river last year, but now I am overjoyed. Finally, I made a good result in Nové Město na Moravě,” the native of Janov nad Nisou said.
“The race was really difficult due to wind and heavy snow. However, it was good that we had tailwind at the stadium because the section leading towards the shooting range seems endless and drains you in headwind,” she said, finding some positives about the sprint.
She believes that the Czech quartet will be successful in the relay race on Saturday: “It would be good to keep the form we had in Anterselva.” Czech women finished fourth at the recent World Championships in Italy.
Finishing 39th, the bronze medallist from Anterselva, Lucie Charvátová, was the second best Czech woman. Lucie had to run penalty loops due to the fact that she missed three targets. Eva Kristejn Puskarčíková had two misses and finished 57th, Jessica Jislová was 64th.
Friday will bring men’s 10 km sprint. Similarly to the women’s sprint, the race will start at 5:30 PM, and it is broadcasted live at: ČT sport – Česká televize, Eurosport, Eurovision Sports Live. Results: DATACENTER, for any other information, please visit our official website BiathlonNMNM.cz.
Author: Tomáš Hermann, Lada Smržová
Photo: Petr Slavík, Michal Jilka
