Marte Krakstad Johansen of Norway, shooting clean, won in the Women's 7.5 km Sprint as the 2022/2023 IBU Cup season got underway in Idre Fjall, Sweden. Endre Stroemsheim, despising missing twice, completed a victorious Norwegian day with his career-third IBU Cup win in the sprint.

Krakstad gets everything right

Krakstad won for the first time in the IBU Cup and is yet to start in the BMW IBU World Cup. Janina Hettich - Walz of German missed once for a second place, 20.5 seconds behind Johansen. Her teammate Marion Wiesensarter shot 10/10 and finished third, 23 seconds behind the winner.

“I am delighted with today’s performance. Everything went according to the plan and I felt composed,” said Johansen. She was second-fastest on the range and backed a steady shooting performance with a fifth skiing time.

Lena Repinc of Slovenia, shooting clean, came in fourth, 30.8 seconds behind the winner, and Mona Brorsson of Sweden, with no misses, was fifth, 36.6 behind Johansen. Anamarija Lampič of Slovenia, in her IBU Cup debut, finished sixth, just 0.4 seconds behind Brorsson. Lampič, who switched to biathlon from cross-country at the end of last season, missed four shots but blasted through the course and clocked the fastest skiing time, 58 seconds ahead of the second-best Tilda Johansson of Sweden.

Stroemsheim’s ski speed helps him to win

Stroemsheim missed once in the prone and once in the standing, while skiing the second fastest time of the day. He was 8.2 seconds faster than his compatriot Mats Oeverby, who - seemingly out of nowhere and competing in the IBU Cup for the first time - shot 10/10 and clocked the 13th fastest time.

“We had fantastic skis today, and I noticed that early on in the competition. To win despite two misses is a great opening to the season,” commented Stroemsheim.

Oeverby was the fastest after the second shooting but lost his ski power on the steep climbs in the last lap. Philipp Horn of Germany, missing once in the standing shooting, finished third, 18 seconds behind Stroemsheim.

Serafin Wiestner of Switzerland, with one miss, finished fourth, 24.4 seconds behind the winner. Martin Uldal made it three in the flowers for Norway, with three misses and 25 seconds behind Stroemsheim. IBU Cup Total Score winner for 2019/2020 season Lucas Fratzscher of Germany, missing two times, finished sixth, 39.2 seconds behind the winner.

Photo: Per Danielsson; IBU Photopool