Biathlon: flowers at the Worlds at 37 for Jakov Fak
In the men’s pursuit at the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) on Sunday afternoon, Jakov Fak crossed the finish line in seventh place. With a score of 19/20 and a bib number of 11, he had a fine race, moving up four places among the top athletes in his sport.
Only, the Slovenian legend took part in the flower ceremony. But why? Because the competition jury accepted an appeal from Slovenia. “The team appealed after the finish because there was a mix-up at the second shot and he had to change mats because of a mistake by another biathlete,” the Slovenian Ski Association revealed in a statement.
The other biathlete was Norway’s Endre Stroemsheim. “The jury agreed with the Slovenian team and finally credited Fak with the same time as the Frenchman [Quentin Fillon-Maillet], so they shared sixth place,” SloSki went on to explain. In detail, it was point 8.7.4.b of the IBU competition rules that came into play to reclassify the Slovenian.
Despite this fine performance at the age of 37, Jakov Fak is not entirely satisfied. “I’m happy to have moved up [in the rankings] and I have to be satisfied with this result. But, as a professional athlete aiming for the top, I can’t be completely satisfied, he says. I know I give the impression that I’m never satisfied, but if I didn’t have that mentality, I wouldn’t be doing this sport competitively any more.”
- The full programme for the World Championships in Lenzerheide, the highlight of the 2024/2025 season
- Léna Arnaud: my best memory of… Lenzerheide
- Swiss biathlete Arnaud Du Pasquier presents the Roland Arena, the Lenzerheide stadium used for the 2025 World Championships
- Delphyne Burlet on the challenges of the Lenzerheide world championships
- “We decided to follow the sporting logic”: Stéphane Bouthiaux explains how the French mixed relay team for the World Championships in Lenzerheide was put together.
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet annoyed at being sidelined in the mixed relay at the world championships in Lenzerheide: “I thought I deserved more consideration from the staff”.
- Lenzerheide: France, with Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Eric Perrot and Emilien Jacquelin, retain their world mixed relay title
- “We couldn’t have got off to a better start than this”: the perfect start for the French team, which won gold in the mixed relay at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- “I don’t feel like I made a mistake”: Julia Simon recounts her collision with Sweden’s Anna Magnusson during the mixed relay in Lenzerheide
- Julia Simon and Sebastian Samuelsson crashed, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Hanna Oeberg failed to shoot: an opening mixed relay full of twists and turns in Lenzerheide
- “It was fun”: during the mixed relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Britain’s Shawna Pendry was surprised to ski with her idol Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold.
- Dorothea Wierer supports Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold after the Norwegian was insulted on social networks
- Lenzerheide: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s day of glory, crowned world sprint champion ahead of Franziska Preuss and Suvi Minkkinen
- “The wheel turns”: how Justine Braisaz-Bouchet became world sprint champion in Lenzerheide after a difficult January
- Lenzerheide: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s photo album with her gold medal in the sprint at the World Championships
- “Ten years on, Franziska Preuss has won her second individual world medal in the sprint at Lenzerheide.
- “She really believed in her chances”: in the Lenzerheide sprint, Suvi Minkkinen became the third Finn to win a world medal
- “I’m a fighter, I won’t give up”: assures Lena Haecki-Gross, who came very close to winning a medal on home soil in the sprint at the World Championships.
- “Sometimes you just have to let go”: Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, who struggled at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, broke down in tears after the sprint.
- “I’m very proud”: Maya Cloetens tells Nordic Magazine how she made Belgian biathlon history by finishing eighth in the sprint at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- The quest for a first individual world title: why this could be the right year for Quentin Fillon-Maillet, who starts the Lenzerheide sprint this Saturday.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe crushes the sprint to win a fourth world gold medal in the discipline, Quentin Fillon-Maillet gets a tan
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the sprint to become the most gold medal-winning biathlete in the history of the World Championships
- “I’m going to miss that feeling of being the best in the world”: Johannes Thingnes Boe continues to make history by winning the sprint at his last World Championships
- “Winning a first medal feels great”: bronze in the Lenzerheide sprint, Quentin Fillon-Maillet kicks off his World Championships in style
- “I feel really lucky”: at 22, Campbell Wright entered the big leagues by winning silver in the sprint at the World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: “I’m not going to spit on this race”: on the World Championships sprint, Tommaso Giacomel was reassured after the mixed relay
- Lenzerheide: the Swedes look grim after their unsuccessful sprint at the Worlds
- Lenzerheide: who is Sean Benson, who finished last in the sprint?
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, a golden opportunity to make World Championship history by winning the pursuit for the third time in a row
- “Everything still has to be done”: Florent Claude, a sprint in Lenzerheide finishing in 17th place that leaves you wanting more
- 65th in the Lenzerheide sprint, Gaia Brunello achieved Brazil’s best result at the Worlds: “A dream come true”.
- Lenzerheide: Dorothea Wierer withdraws from the World Championship chase
