Biathlon | Kontiolahti: Turkka Nieminen and Inka Hämäläinen win the first sprints for the Finnish national teams

Biathlon: the first day of Finnish selections has delivered its verdict

This weekend, it’s not just in Norway, France and Sweden that selective races are taking place. In Kontiolahti (Finland), the Finnish selections take place in two sprints.

The first race took place this Saturday morning. On the women’s side, Inka Hämäläinen (10/10) took victory with a 31 sec 3 lead over Suvi Minkkinen (7/10) and 42 sec 3 over Sonja Leinamo (7/10). Venla Lehtonen (7/10), Noora Kaisa Keränen (7/10) and Erika Jänkä (8/10) rounded off the day’s top 6.

There was a surprise on the men’s side when Turkka Nieminen (10/10) won by over a minute from Kalle Loukkaanhuhta (9/10). Tuomas Harjula (7/10) finished on the podium ahead of Jimi Klemettinen (6/10), Vili Kotikumpu (8/10), Santtu Panttila (8/10) and Arttu Heikkinen (8/10).

Full results

• Two sprints for World Cup tickets: the full programme for the Finnish national teams in Kontiolahti