Gilonne Guigonnat of France and Isak Frey of Norway, both wearing a bib 14, won in the Sprints at the IBU Cup in Otepaa, Estonia. Frey won for the sixth time in the 2024/2025 and looks set to win the IBU Cup Total Score title. The Norwegian men took five spots on the flower podium.

Guigonnat wins with strong second half performance

Guigonnat secured victory with a time of 22:59.7, despite one missed shot in the prone. Italy’s Rebeca Passler, demonstrating increased ski speed compared to the last season, claimed second place, finishing 25.3 seconds behind, with two missed targets in the standing stage. Kristyna Otcovska from Czechia rounded out the podium in third, trailing by 29.8 seconds with one missed shot in the standing.

THE WINNER’S WORDS - GILONNE GUIGONNAT

Sweden’s Emma Nilsson hit all targets and finished fourth, 34.4 seconds back. Norway’s Juni Arnekleiv, despite three missed shots, managed a strong fifth-place finish, 38.0 seconds behind. Italy’s Sara Scattolo, with clean shooting, took sixth place, 42.0 seconds off the winner.

Sixth win of the season for Frey

In the men's Sprint, Estonia, Norway's Frey delivered a flawless performance, shooting clean and securing victory with a time of 25:10.9. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, also from Norway, finished second, 29.2 seconds behind, with one missed shot. Completing the all-Norwegian podium, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal took third place, trailing by 36.2 seconds, after missing one target.

THE WINNER’S WORDS - ISAK FREY

Johan Olav Botn, another Norwegian, finished fourth, 38.5 seconds back, with two misses. Germany’s Lucas Fratzscher was the best non-Norwegian in the field, finishing fifth, over a minute behind at +1:08.7, with one missed shot. Sivert Guttorm Bakken, also from Norway, placed sixth, 1:14.4 minutes behind, after missing two targets.