Biathlon | Aita Gasparin and Niklas Hartweg, winners of the Pokljuka mixed singles relay, tell Nordic Magazine: “It’s so nice to be at the top”

Biathlon: historic victory for Switzerland

In the mixed singles relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka (Slovenia), contested at midday on Sunday, Switzerland’s Aita Gasparin and Niklas Hartweg made history by becoming the first biathletes from their country to triumph in a team event.

After the official ceremony, they stopped off in the mixed zone to answer questions from Nordic Magazine. Interview.

• Can you tell us about your race?

Aita Gasparin: It’s incredible. My last podium was five years ago with the relay and I haven’t had an individual podium until now. I knew we had a chance today [Sunday], but to be honest, I didn’t really think we’d win this race! I was able to rely on a great team-mate, who did really well! I think we can be really proud today!

Niklas Hartweg: It’s really incredible! I’ve been on podiums before, but it’s even more gratifying now than it was then! To win, you really have to have a perfect race. We’re not in that kind of situation as often as other athletes. So it wasn’t easy to be at the front and concentrate on your own race. I think we managed it really well and we can be proud. It’s really rewarding!

• It all came down to the last shot. What was that like for you?

Niklas Hartweg: When I got to the last shot, I wasn’t really nervous, to be honest. I’d had a perfect race up to that point. However, I had a crash on the first lap and had to fight my way back. I shot three times without a fault and, on the last shot, it might have been a bit too much to shoot perfectly! I made two mistakes, but I tried to shoot quickly and accurately without thinking too much about anything else. When I put the balls in, my legs started to shake, so I’m proud to put them in!

Aita Gasparin: I didn’t really want to know what he was doing because I was too nervous! When I came out of the changing hut, I saw that he was approaching the shooting range and, yes, it’s crazy. I think as an athlete you know what it’s like to stand there and I have to say it’s harder to watch than it is to be yourself on the mat. I know that’s exactly what he described: the moment you put the ball in the air, your legs start to shake and your brain starts to work… and he did really well!

• This is Switzerland’s first victory in a World Cup relay. What does it mean to you?

Aita Gasparin: It’s crazy! We were out in front from the start, but we still have to finish the job to bring home the win, especially with the last shot. There’s always the chance to miss where others have missed… So that was one challenge on top of all the others. So, yes, it’s extremely satisfying after all the work we put in afterwards, all those very close placings for Switzerland throughout the season close to the podium. It’s so nice to be at the top!

Niklas Hartweg: I’ve been waiting for this podium for a long time! It’s been a while and, above all, after having done this race and having been at the front to control the race, it’s even more deserving. Yes, Switzerland has won a relay! It’s a really special day for us and the race went so quickly that all of a sudden you’re in the lead, all of a sudden you’re in the last shot and you have to shoot for victory… It was an incredible race! We’re really proud to have won.

Live data for mixed events

• The full programme for the Pokljuka World Cup, the eighth stage of the 2024/2025 season
• Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Pokljuka
• Lou Jeanmonnot vs Franziska Preuss and Johannes Thingnes Boe vs Sturla Holm Lægreid: in Pokljuka, a high-risk individual race in the race for the big crystal globe
• Pokljuka: Julia Simon follows up her victory by winning the individual short at 20/20, all the French women in the top 10
• Julia Simon tells Nordic Magazine after her success in the Pokljuka individual short: “I’m very happy to have built up this race in such a beautiful way”.
• Pokljuka: Lou Jeanmonnot wins the small crystal globe in the individual event, a first for a Frenchwoman
• Pokljuka: third in the individual short, Franziska Preuss claws back points from Lou Jeanmonnot in the race for the big globe
• “I’m not going to give up”: Lou Jeanmonnot tells Nordic Magazine after the individual short in Pokljuka
• Pokljuka: Océane Michelon takes command of the U23 rankings and will be wearing blue for the mass-start
• Océane Michelon, fifth in the Pokljuka individual short: “I’m copying and pasting from Kontiolahti”.
• Pokljuka: Jakov Fak wins the individual short on home soil, his first success since… 22 March 2015, Quentin Fillon-Maillet with the flowers
• “I’d love to grow old like him”, “I don’t have enough words to describe it”: Emilien Jacquelin and Eric Perrot impressed by Jakov Fak’s victory in Pokljuka at the age of 37
• Pokljuka: Sturla Holm Lægreid takes over the overall lead from Johannes Thingnes Boe after the individual short race
• Pokljuka: the small individual crystal globe for Sturla Holm Lægreid, as in 2021
• Pokljuka: reactions from Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Eric Perrot, Emilien Jacquelin, Oscar Lombardot, Emilien Claude and Fabien Claude after the individual short race
• Surprise for the French team: Antonin Guigonnat will start the mass start in Pokljuka
• Johannes Thingnes Boe withdraws for the end of the Pokljuka stage
• Pokljuka: no mass-start for Dorothea Wierer either
• “I ask myself a lot of questions, I go over everything all the time…”. For Lou Jeanmonnot, the hunt for the big crystal globe is above all a mental battle.
• Pokljuka: Lou Jeanmonnot wins the mass-start ahead of Milena Todorova and Anamarija Lampic, with Jeanne Richard fourth.
• Ahead of the finals in Oslo-Holmenkollen, Lou Jeanmonnot takes big points off Franziska Preuss in the battle for the big globe
• Lou Jeanmonnot talks to Nordic Magazine after winning the Pokljuka mass-start: “I’m really proud to have been able to deal with my racing thoughts”.
• “She’s proving to herself that she can do it”: Cyril Burdet savours Lou Jeanmonnot’s new victory in Pokljuka
• Record number of wins in a single season, success in all formats: by winning the Pokljuka mass-start, Lou Jeanmonnot made history.
• Pokljuka: Jeanne Richard back in the blue bib as best U23 with three races to go
• Jeanne Richard makes no secret of her ambition when it comes to the blue bib: “I said to myself that I had to go and get it on Sunday 23 March and I will go and get it on Sunday 23 March”.
• “I guess the bad weather suits us”: Slovenia’s fine week at home after Jakov Fak’s victory and Anamarija Lampic’s podium finish
• Pokljuka: Eric Perrot wins the mass start ahead of Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Sturla Holm Lægreid, with Fabien Claude just off the podium.
• Eric Perrot recounts his duel with Quentin Fillon-Maillet to win the Pokljuka mass-start: “I managed to accelerate at the right moment”.
• Quentin Fillon-Maillet still ambitious after his second place in the Pokljuka mass-start: “A season is played out right to the end!
• Pokljuka: Sturla Holm Lægreid overcomes Johannes Thingnes Boe in the mass start to take a 104-point lead overall
• “I think I’ll continue, I’ll be here at the start of the season”: ninth in the Pokljuka mass-start after becoming a father, Antonin Guigonnat has not said his last word.
• Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot rested: the line-ups of the French mixed relays in Pokljuka
• Pokljuka: the small globe in the mixed events and a (new) record in the sights of the French team this Sunday in Slovenia

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.