The second day of the Junior Open European Championships 2022 in Pokljuka was dedicated to Single Mixed Relay and Mixed Relay competitions. France and Russia added to their medal collections, while Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic earned their first medals.

Strong shooting performance from Germany

After a 4th place in yesterday’s Individual, Johanna Puff started the Single Mixed Relay for Germany with a perfect shooting score, that she managed to keep all throughout the competition.

Together with her teammate Darius Lodl, they showed the best shooting performace of all teams (0+4) in the fastest shooting total time. In the end, they finished first with a 12.5 seconds advantage ahead of Russia.

Anastasiia Grishina and Evgenii Emerkhonov needed 11 spare rounds throughout the competition, but thanks to the fastest ski time, they crossed the finish line in second position. Third place went to France’s Fany Bertrand and Paul Fontaine (0+6), who lost their second position ahead of the final loop, when Paul Fontaine had to use all three spare rounds in the last standing.

Clear win for France, fight for the bronze medal

In the afternoon’s Mixed Relay, France got in front after the first Exchange, increasing their lead all the way through the competition. Using only 4 spare rounds, the French were the second fastest of all teams in both, shooting and skiing. Jacques Jefferies left the last shooting with an advantage of more than a minute, enjoying the finish holding the French flag and celebrating with his team mates.

Germany (0+2) finished second with the fastest shooting time, 47.1 seconds behind the winner. What looked like a third place for Italy during the second half of the race, Nicolo Betemps lost to Jonas Marecek of the Czech Republic in the last loop. With 0+7, the Czech team took third place in the finish, building on the success from Martell.

The Junior Open European Championships Pokljuka 2022 resume on Saturday with the Sprint competitions.

Photos: Reichert/IBU