Puff and Frey win Individual Gold in Martell
Johanna Puff of Germany and Isak Frey of Norway are the winners of the Individuals at the highly competitive IBU Open European Championships in Martell-Val Martello. Puff won with her clean and fast shooting, whereas Frey combined fast skiing with a strong second-half shooting performance.
Fast shooting brings Puff a victory
Germany’s Johanna Puff secured victory in the Women’s 15km Individual at the IBU Open European Championships in Martell-Val Martello with a flawless shooting performance and a time of 47:06.4. Fellow German Marlene Fichtner also shot clean but finished 9.5 seconds behind to claim second place. Fichtner opened, and Puff anchored Germany’s women's relay at last week’s BMW IBU World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva. Puff won thanks to the fastest range time - she spent 51.2 seconds less to clear all 20 targets than Fichtner. Sweden’s Anna-Karin Heijdenberg, despite three penalties, with the speediest skiing time, took third place, 18.0 seconds back.
THE WINNER’S WORDS - JOHANNA PUFF
“It has been such an up-and-down season for me with getting sick in December, and this gold medal is fantastic. I had a close fight with Marlene (Fichtner), and it feels great to celebrate with her. In the last few days, I have been traveling up and down in South Tyrol - I moved from training in Ridnaun to the last-minute spot in the relay in Antholz and then to Martell. Crazy!”
France’s Amandine Mengin finished fourth with two misses, trailing by 30.2 seconds. Norway’s Juni Arnekleiv had one penalty and placed fifth, 48.7 seconds behind the winner. France’s Voldiya Galmace Paulin, with three misses, completed the top six at +1:23.8.
OECH Martell-Val Martello_Individuals
Skiing fast, Frey takes the men’s race
Frey claimed victory in the Men’s 20km Individual at the IBU Open European Championships in Martell-Val Martello, finishing in 54:10.7 despite two penalties. Austria’s Fredrik Muehlbacher secured second place, 31.7 seconds behind, with just one miss. Sweden’s E. Nykvist also missed just one shot but had to settle for third, trailing by 47.2 seconds.
THE WINNER’S WORDS - ISAK FREY
“After two misses in the first two shooting stages, I thought that my chance for a win was gone. I was lucky that all of my teammates missed two shots or more and that Fredrik (Muehlbacher) and Emil (Nykvist) missed one shot in the last standing shooting! I competed here last season and knew how tough the course, combined with a very high altitude, is.”
Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen finished fourth, 1:16.7 back, with two penalties. Another Norwegian, J.O. Botn, placed fifth with an identical two-miss performance, just 3.2 seconds behind Christiansen. Italy’s Patrick Braunhofer rounded out the top six, finishing 1:20.4 behind with three misses.
Photo: C. Manzoni: IBU Photo Pool
Sign up for our newsletter
Follow us on:
Sign In
EN
Search
