Biathlon: Sondre Slettemark discovered the senior world championships
On Wednesday, more than 8 minutes behind French winner Eric Perrot, Greenland’s Sondre Slettemark took 69th place in the individual men’s race at the biathlon world championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). For the 20-year-old athlete, who recently finished runner-up in the European junior mass-start 60, this was his very first start at the senior World Championships.
However, he was approaching the event on the back of illness, five days after having to give up the sprint. “My form wasn’t what I wanted, and that didn’t help me in this very long race, he told Nordic Magazine. Apart from that, I’m pleased to have remained consistent with an 85% success rate in shooting [he scored 17/20, editor’s note].”
At the start of the mixed singles relay this Thursday with her big sister Ukaleq Slettemark
As a result, Sondre Slettemark finished in 69th place… just two places behind Emilien Jacquelin and ahead of biathletes such as Lukas Hofer, Lovro Planko, Vytautas Strolia and Dmitrii Shamaev.
“Despite everything, I’m very proud, he says. It’s a shame I couldn’t do better, but it’s still great to bring the Greenlandic flag to the world championships.”
On Thursday, he will still be competing in the mixed single relay alongside his big sister Ukaleq Slettemark. “We’ve been looking forward to this race for a long time and, even if we’re both not in perfect shape, I think we can do well if we concentrate on shooting, he says. I suppose the aim will be to reach the finish line.”
In December 2023, when they took part in the mixed singles relay at the World Cup in Östersund (Sweden), the Slettemark family were caught out. “I think that without the penalty ring last time, it should be possible to reach the finish,” he hopes.
- 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
- 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.
- “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.
- 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
- “I’m very proud”: Maya Cloetens tells Nordic Magazine how she made Belgian biathlon history by finishing eighth in the sprint at the Lenzerheide World Championships.
- 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
- “Winning a first medal feels great”: bronze in the Lenzerheide sprint, Quentin Fillon-Maillet kicks off his World Championships in style
- 65th in the Lenzerheide sprint, Gaia Brunello achieved Brazil’s best result at the Worlds: “A dream come true”.
- Lenzerheide: untouchable at 20/20, Franziska Preuss wins the world pursuit title, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes bronze
- “I was three metres too short”. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was close to silver in the pursuit at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe pursuit world champion ahead of the astonishing Campbell Wright, Eric Perrot in bronze
- The greatest of all time: gold in the pursuit at Lenzerheide, Johannes Thingnes Boe is the most successful individual biathlete in history
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot, the eleventh French medallist in an individual World Championship race
- “I had to fill it up and I filled it up”: how Eric Perrot climbed twelve places to win bronze in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: what do they say about Campbell Wright’s exploits in New Zealand?
- “He had to change his shooting line because of a mistake by another biathlete”: why did the jury reclassify Jakov Fak in sixth place in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide?
- Franco-British Chloé Dupont, currently competing in the World Championships in Lenzerheide: “It’s very motivating”.
- Lenzerheide: Marie Dorin-Habert reviews the first week of the World Championships
- Five medals in five races, including two golds: Les Bleus get off to a flying start at the world championships in Lenzerheide
- Thanks to the title won by Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in Lenzerheide, the French women’s team will have five quotas for the sprint at the 2027 World Championships in Otepää, unless…
- Lenzerheide: Tiril Eckhoff and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen sound the alarm after Norway’s poor performances in the first week of the World Championships
- “She’s a metronome”: Lou Jeanmonnot, undefeated this winter in the format, is the great favourite for the individual at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon crowned individual world champion, bronze for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, the fourth French individual world champion
- “Nothing could take me out of my race”: how Julia Simon became individual world champion for the first time in Lenzerheide
- “I didn’t take it well when I missed on the first shot”: after a difficult start to her individual competition in Lenzerheide, Lou Jeanmonnot bounced back to win bronze at the World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon’s photo album with the gold medal she won in the individual event at the World Championships
- Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with her bronze medal in the individual event at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- “I’m speechless”: a fantastic second in the individual World Championships, Ella Halvarsson makes Sweden shine in Lenzerheide
- “I lost my concentration”: in contention for a new title at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Franziska Preuss broke down on the last shot of the individual event.
- “I’ve been unlucky again”: 71st in the individual event at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Anamarija Lampic broke the elastic band on her rifle mid-shot.
- Seven medals, three of them gold: halfway through the World Championships in Lenzerheide, France is on course to beat the Nove Mesto 2024 record.
- Lenzerheide: Peiserot Eric Perrot becomes individual world champion, bronze for Quentin Fillon-Maillet
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot becomes the fifth French individual gold medallist at the World Championships
- “What an honour to be able to follow in the footsteps of great champions”: at 23, Eric Perrot is crowned individual world champion
- “He’s a great man, and he’ll continue to be”: Simon Fourcade’s joy after Eric Perrot won the world title in the individual event in Lenzerheide
- “Strong impression”, “What a race”, “Far superior performance”: Eric Perrot’s first world title as seen by the international press
- Lenzerheide: new individual world champion, Eric Perrot has his hair shorn on the podium
- “It’s a wonderful feeling”: in Lenzerheide, Tommaso Giacomel won his first ever individual world medal
- “I would have signed up at the start of the Worlds for results like these”: even without a gold medal, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, twice tanned, is smiling again.
- “It’s a little frustrating”: Niklas Hartweg came within a whisker of a medal in the individual at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: Finland’s Olli Hiidensalo dedicates his great race to his baby
- “What an honour to be able to follow in the footsteps of great champions”: at 23, Eric Perrot is crowned individual world champion
- “I’m terribly disappointed by my last shot”: Michal Krcmar, close to a medal in the individual event at the Lenzerheide World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot’s photo album with the gold medal he won in the individual event at the world championships
- Lenzerheide: Quentin Fillon-Maillet’s photo album with his bronze medal from the individual event at the world championships
