“A new star” for Ole Einar Bjoerndalen
Martin Uldal won the sprint leg of the biathlon World Cup in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) on Thursday. A first career victory for the Norwegian.
In the rain, the 23-year-old beat the leader of his national team, Johannes Thingnes Boe, by just over two seconds. ” I fought really hard right to the end, but Uldal was simply better,” said the world number one in the mixed zone.
“I was convinced that Johannes was going to beat me so I didn’t dare look at my phone. It was only five or ten minutes after he’d finished that I dared take a look. Then a lot of people came to see me and the atmosphere was great,” the winner told TV 2 (in words picked up by Nettavisen).
Martin Uldal ‘s success was largely achieved on the shooting range. Efficient, the Scandinavian shot ten out of ten when his rival dropped a ball.
When he crossed the finish line, his body was there to remind him. “My stomach was completely twisted. That happens from time to time,” he told NRK.
For Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, consultant for TV2, “a new star is born”.
In the Norwegian camp, people were happy with what Martin Uldal had just achieved: ” It’s absolutely fantastic. He was ahead of me, so I followed most of his race. It’s impressive, but not a surprise. It’s well deserved,” said Vebjoern Soerum.
“Martin is a very cool guy, and a bit like me, he has an eye for detail. He has a knack for fine-tuning and finding small improvements,” added Sturla Holm Lægreid.
Martin Uldal started the season with a 7th and 5th place respectively in the sprint and pursuit in Hochfilzen (Austria). Less than a week later, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen is convinced that a great name in biathlon was born on 19 December.
Thirteen years earlier, another biathlete recorded his first success in the Aravis mountains. His name was Johannes Thingnes Boe.
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- Without Juni Arnekleiv but with Ida Lien, Tarjei Boe only on the mass-start: the Norwegian line-up for the Grand-Bornand stage
- “The decision was obvious”: Stéphane Bouthiaux explains to Nordic Magazine why Gilonne Guigonnat won’t be taking part in the Grand-Bornand races.
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