Bendika and Braunhofer win Pursuits in Martell
Baiba Bendika of Latvia and the sensational Patrick Braunhofer of Italy won the highly entertaining Pursuits at the IBU Open European Championships in Martell-Val Martello. Bendika upped her bronze medal from the Sprint. Braunhofer, 16th after the Sprint, excelled with a 20/20 shooting score and recorded the best Pursuit time.
Bendika flies to the Pursuit gold
Bendika claimed victory, crossing the finish line in 33:54.4 despite three penalties—they all came in the last standing stage, at which point she built a one-minute advantage over the field with fast skiing. The Sprint winner, Sweden’s Anna-Karin. Heijdenberg, put up a firm fight but finished 15.6 seconds behind with four misses. Italy’s Linda Zingerle delighted the home crowd with a third-place finish, 19.2 seconds back - after two penalties.
THE WINNER’S WORDS - BAIBA BENDIKA
I love this course. It is hard, and it suits my skiing style perfectly. It feels great to back up a bronze medal in the Sprint with a gold in the Pursuit. After a difficult start to the season, I am finally in competitive shape. This gives me quite a bit of hope before the IBU World Championships in Lenzerheide, where the competitions are also at a high altitude.
Tuuli Tomingas of Estonia secured fourth place, also with two missed shots, trailing by 27.6 seconds. France’s Sophie Chauveau, despite four penalties, finished just 0.2 seconds behind Tomingas in fifth. Another French athlete, Gilonne Guigonnat, rounded out the top six with two penalties and a 35.6-second gap to the winner.
Anna-Karin Heijdenberg is the only athlete with three individual medals in Martell-Val Martello.
OECH Martell-Val Martello_Pursuits
Braunhofer stuns the Norwegians
Braunhofer delivered a flawless performance to win the men’s pursuit, crossing the line in 34:27.2 with clean shooting. Norway’s Isak Frey secured second place, 22.7 seconds behind, despite two penalties. Another Norwegian, Sverre Dahlen Aspenes, took third, overcoming four penalties to finish 37.5 seconds behind Braunhofer.
THE WINNER’S WORDS - PATRICK BRAUNHOFER
It is incredible! I was fully focused on the shooting range and as the bibs before me started to miss and took my opportunity. In the last standing stage I knew I had to hit all 20 targets to bring the lead over the finish line. To beat the Norwegians . . . crazy!
The Sprint winner and another Norwegian Sivert Guttorm Bakken finished fourth, 46.3 seconds back, with three misses. Italy’s Iacopo Leonesio matched Braunhofer’s perfect shooting but had to settle for fifth, 1:14.3 back. France’s Oscar Lombardot rounded out the top six, struggling with six missed shots, but skiing the fastest time and finishing 1:18.5 behind.
Braunhofer's gold medal is also first for Italy at the IBU Open European Championships.
Photo: C. Manzoni: IBU Photo
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