Thursday’s Para Biathlon World Cup sprints in Val di Fiemme provided athletes with a final competitive test before next year’s Paralympic Games. It was also the last chance to fine-tune their form ahead of the Para Biathlon World Championships in Pokljuka.

The day began with a dominant performance from China's biathletes, who secured a double victory in the sitting category. The men's race was the first to unfold on the sunny tracks of Tesero Stadium, where Mengtao Liu claimed victory, finishing six seconds ahead of Kazakhstan’s Yerbol Khamitov—both delivered flawless shooting. World Cup leader Zixu Liu secured third place, trailing the winner by just 10 seconds despite incurring one penalty lap.

China's success continued in the women’s competition, as Shiyu Wang mirrored Liu’s achievement. Thanks to perfect shooting, she outpaced Germany’s Anja Wicker by nearly half a minute. The podium was completed by Yuxin Zhai, who missed one shot and finished 54 seconds behind her compatriot. Notably absent from both races were Kendall Gretsch and Derek Zaplotinsky, the winners of Wednesday’s Sprint Pursuit competition.

In the standing category, athletes from Europe and North America took center stage, though China’s competitors remained a force on the podium. Among the men, no one could challenge Mark Arendz once again. Since the start of last year, the Canadian has dominated, winning 10 of the previous 11 events. This time, Jiayun Cai of China finished just 10 seconds behind, while Ukraine’s Serhii Romaniuk trailed by 12. All three shot flawlessly, as did Germany’s Marco Maier, who narrowly missed the podium by just four seconds.

The women’s race was even closer, with small margins separating the top finishers. The day's standout was Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova – a new World Cup leader who overcame a single penalty to claim victory over a field of perfect shooters. Zhiqing Zhao of China finished just four seconds behind, with Iryna Bui of Ukraine another five seconds back. Brittany Hudak, the Sprint Pursuit winner from Wednesday, had to settle for fourth despite a flawless shooting performance—crossing the line only 13 seconds behind the winner.

The competitors in the Vision Impaired category had to wait until the sun dipped behind the surrounding peaks before taking the course. In the women’s event, Leonie Marie Walter avenged her second-place finish from the previous day. The 21-year-old German earned her third win of the season, further solidifying her lead in the overall World Cup standings.

Yue Wang of China finished runner-up in both Thursday’s race and the overall standings. Her chances of victory slipped away at the shooting range, where she missed twice. Germany’s Johanna Recktenwald completed the podium in third. The men’s race was a showcase of Ukrainian supremacy, with their athletes sweeping the podium. Oleksandr Kazik claimed his third season victory, finishing 26 seconds ahead of flawless World Cup leader Iaroslav Reshetynskyi, despite incurring a penalty. Anatolii Kovalevskyi secured third place.

Para biathletes will return to competition on February 6, when sprints are scheduled for the Para Biathlon WCH in Pokljuka.

Photos: Vanzetta/IBU