Biathlon: Jakov Fak, World Cup winner at 37
On Thursday morning, before heading off to the biathlon stadium in Pokljuka (Slovenia), Jakov Fak prepared breakfast for his three children at home. Then the 37-year-old Slovenian, accompanied by his wife, dropped them off at school. Only then did the 2010 Olympic sprint medallist get into biathlon mode.
On this day of individual short races, he produced a magnificent performance. Wearing bib 5, and in the rain, he clocked 20/20 to win brilliantly…., his first success since 22 March 2015. Eric Perrot, 15 years his junior, was impressed by his tenacity.
“I think it’s wonderful, he told Nordic Magazine in the mixed zone. He’s a great person and to be able to do what he does at his age is incredible. I’m the opposite of him, I’m young and it’s normal to be hungry and sometimes create the feat of getting ahead. When you’re old, in inverted commas, managing to win in top-level sport, I don’t have enough words to describe that. Just hats off to you and well done!”
Slovenia, the sixth country to win a World Cup this winter
His Dauphiné team-mate Emilien Jacquelin was also impressed by his elder’s victory. “It’s incredible! I’d love to grow old like him. What impresses me most of all is that he still has the will to race at the highest level. He’s someone who’s seen several generations come and go and he’s always been there, and now he’s back in impressive physical condition, he explains. I’m very happy for him and it’s also good for world biathlon to see other nations winning.”
Slovenia is in fact the sixth country to triumph this season at the World Cup in individual formats, after Norway, France, Sweden, Germany and Italy.
[With Julie and Marie Le Bobinnec, in Pokljuka].
- 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”.
