The Summer Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding have come to an end and the Chiemgau Arena will be resting for a while before the World Cup team makes a stop here from January 11 to 15, 2023. A total of 17.000 spectators went to the stadium during the four days of the event and loudly cheered on the athletes. With 350 athletes from 30 nations, the World Championships featured a record-breaking field of participants.
World-class athletes such as Dorothea Wierer, Elvira Oeberg, Denise Herrmann, Sebastian Samuelsson and Philipp Nawrath were at the start. Justus Pfeifer, Mayor of Ruhpolding, draws a positive conclusion: "We have seen biathlon sport at the highest level in the past few days and the TV pictures that were broadcast have shown a wonderful impression of the place and the venue. My personal highlight was Philipp Horn's gold medal and Roman Rees' heart-stopping final in the mass start. This definitely makes you want to go to the Winter World Cup."
The World Champions
During the Biathlon Summer World Championships a total of 12 medals were awarded in the disciplines of super sprint, sprint, mass start and pursuit.
Maksim Fomin (LIT) and Selina Marie Kastl (GER) win in super sprint of juniors
Lithuania's Maksim Fomin and Germany's Selina Marie Kastl won the first two gold medals in junior super sprint on Thursday. Fomin won gold with a clean shooting performance over the men's 7.5 km in 18:00.9, while the silver medal went to Fabian Kaskel of Germany, who was 21.3 seconds behind with three penalty rounds. Maxime Germain of the USA won the bronze medal with five penalties. Selina Marie Kastl thrilled the crowd in the Chiemgau Arena by taking the lead after the first standing shooting and, despite three penalty rounds, won in 20:30.3 minutes. Slovenia's Lena Repinc won the silver medal with two misses and was 23.6 seconds behind. Lora Hristova from Bulgaria won the bronze medal with five penalties, 38.1 seconds behind.
Philipp Horn (GER) and Dorothea Wierer (ITA) are World Champions in Super Sprint
Germany's Philipp Horn prevailed in men's super sprint after two penalty rounds in the last standing shooting. He left five competitors behind in the last 20 meters and won the gold medal in 16:55,4 minutes. Swedish teammates Sebastian Samuelsson and Peppe Femling, both with three misses, secured the silver and bronze medals 0.2 and 0.7 seconds behind.
In the women's event, Italy's Dorothea Wierer took the lead after the first prone shooting and remained unchallenged at the top despite two misses. She secured the gold medal in a time of 19:05.7. Behind Wierer, her teammate Lisa Vittozzi won the silver medal with three misses. Finland's Nastassia Kinnunen shot clean and won the bronze medal 13.9 seconds behind.
Jonas Marecek (CZE) and Selina Grotian (GER) secure the gold medal in junior sprint
Jonas Marecek from the Czech Republic took the lead after a good shooting result and skied to the gold medal in 7.5 km junior sprint in 18:51.6 minutes. His teammate Tomas Mikyska took the silver medal 10.2 seconds behind. Germany's Fabian Kaskel won the bronze medal with one penalty loop, 46.78 seconds behind.
Selina Grotian won gold with a sensational run performance. She was faster than the men with a time of 17:02.2 minutes. Selina Marie Kastl in second place and Johanna Puff in third place completed the German podium.
Sebastian Samuelsson (SWE) and Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) are the World Champions in Sprint
Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson literally flew over the finish line after prone shooting and only one penalty round in standing shooting. He won the gold medal in the men's 7.5 km sprint in 18:38.1 minutes. Teammate Peppe Femling secured silver. Switzerland's Niklas Hartweg completed the podium.
In the last competition of the day, Italy's Lisa Vittozzi ran a brilliant last lap with a gap of 11.3 seconds after the standing start and took the gold medal in the women's 6 km sprint in 16:21.4. Czech Marketa Davidova won the silver medal after a good shooting performance. Two bronze medals went to Paulina Fialkova of Slovakia and Lena Haecki Gross of Switzerland. Behind Vittozzi's gold medal with only one penalty round, Czech Marketa Davidova shot clean and won the silver medal 2.4 seconds behind. Two bronze medals went to Paulina Fialkova of Slovakia and Lena Haecki Gross of Switzerland. Both finished 23.9 seconds behind.
Gold medals in junior pursuit race for Tomas Mikyska (CZW) and Selina Marie Kastl (GER)
Tomas Mikyska from the Czech Republic, who was in the lead from the first shooting, won the gold medal in the pursuit race in 26:39.8 minutes. Mikyska and silver medalist Jonas Marecek had a duel at the shooting range during the whole competition and did not give each other anything. The bronze medal was won by Vitalii Mandzyn from Ukraine.
In the junior women's race, Germany's Selina Marie Kastl controlled the pursuit race over the 7.5 km and secured her third gold medal at the Summer World Championships. Her teammate Johanna Puff took the silver medal, 14.4 seconds behind. Tereza Vobornikova from the Czech Republic won bronze 23.6 seconds behind.
Dorothea Wierer and Sebastian Samuelsson win gala mass start
Italy's Dorothea Wierer had a hot duel with Denise Herrmann in gala mass start. Dorothea Wierer secured the gold medal in 28:21,2 minutes. Wierer, who collected only one penalty point in the second run, was 9.4 seconds ahead of silver medalist Herrmann who also had one penalty point. Czech Marketa Davidova won the bronze medal with two penalty rounds.
In the men's race, Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson flew through the final 2.5-kilometer lap 8.9 seconds behind and overtook Germany's Roman Rees in the final 100 meters. Samuelsson secured gold in the gala mass start. Silver medalist Roman Rees of Germany was only 2.9 seconds behind. Samuelsson's teammate Martin Ponsiluoma won the bronze medal.
The program
Around the competitions, a varied supporting program was offered for the whole family. From laser biathlon to goal wall shooting and autograph sessions, there was something for everyone. Especially between the competitions, the visitors flocked to the areas around the hands-on activities. Especially the autograph sessions at the DSV stand as well as at the Sporthilfe stand were very popular. The various laser shooting ranges were also very popular.
At the ski scooter test, visitors experienced how it feels to glide across the asphalt on the narrow ski scooters. The Bavarian Ski Association presented itself with an information stand and an exercise course for children, where five winter sports could be tried out in a playful way. After all, early practice is the key to becoming a professional athlete. How this can look like was shown by the young talents of the SC Ruhpolding during the show trainings on the ski jump. During the training breaks, they went down the ski jump run in a bobsled. At the German Ski Association and the Ruhpolding Tourism booth, great prizes such as tickets for the World Championships in Oberhof or a vacation stay were raffled. Food and beverage stands provided for the physical well-being.
