Biathlon: 20/20 and a first podium for Amy Baserga
Switzerland had been looking for a benchmark performance on the biathlon World Cup since the start of the winter. Having struggled in both the women’s and men’s events, despite Niklas Hartweg’s fine fourth place the day before, our Swiss neighbours were back on their feet on Thursday afternoon at the end of the individual race in Ruhpolding (Germany), won by France’s Lou Jeanmonnot.
Twenty-sixth in the overall standings, Amy Baserga pulled a fine trick out of her hat at the heart of the Chiemgau Arena. In this historic format of the discipline, the slightest mistake is costly. And the Swiss rider was well aware of this, scoring one of the very few 20/20s of the day.
A performance that opened the door to a high-flying performance. Eighteenth in the ski time, the 24-year-old nevertheless worked hard on the last lap of the day to make up every last second. It was a tactic that paid off, as she finished on the third step of the podium.
Behind Lou Jeanmonnot and Franziska Preuss, Amy Baserga not only secured a place among the very best, but also, and above all, her best career result at this level. Until now, the native of Zurich (Switzerland) had never done better than ninth place, which she achieved last winter on the slopes of Canmore (Canada).
As the icing on the cake, the Engadin native also took the opportunity to secure her place at the world championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), scheduled for 12-23 February: “It was a big surprise for me, but it was really moving. This morning, I was a bit tired but also very concentrated for this race. My aim was to get a clean shot and I did that. That’s fantastic! It’s really moving because we’re a small team and it means a lot to us and to all the other girls,” she explained to the IBU afterwards.
Read also
