Biathlon: Baiba Bendika European champion, as in 2021
On Saturday morning, at the start of the women’s pursuit at the European Biathlon Championships in Martell-Val Martello (Italy), the Swede Anna-Karin Heijdenberg was expected to put on a solo festival. Winner of the sprint by a margin of 49 seconds over her first runner-up, the Scandinavian went into the race in a perfect frame of mind.
However, her advantage quickly faded until she had a margin of just ten seconds over Baiba Bendika after making a mistake on the first dismount. Anna-Karin Heijdenberg (16/20) then lost the lead halfway through the race when the Latvian, with a total of 17/20, took control of the event.
Alone in the lead, despite making three mistakes in the last upright, Baiba Bendika took advantage of her opponents’ errors to compete in the final round of cross-country skiing on her own. In great form on the boards, she won and became European pursuit champion four years after winning gold in the sprint at Duszniki-Zdroj (Poland).
Sophie Chauveau and Gilonne Guigonnat with the flowers
For the other places on the podium, there was a great four-way battle, but it was Sweden’s Anna-Karin Heijdenberg, who was in the lead at the start, who took silver ahead of Italy’s Linda Zingerle (18/20), who had a tan, and Estonia’s Tuuli Tomingas (18/20).
There were no medals for the French, with Bornandine Sophie Chauveau (16/20) in fifth place (she was twice at fault in the last passage over the mats) and Gilonne Guigonnat (18/20) in sixth place. Voldiya Galmace-Paulin (17/20) was twelfth and Amandine Mengin (17/20) thirteenth.
Camille Bened (15/20) finished twenty-first, but still leads the IBU Cup overall. Léonie Jeannier did not finish the pursuit due to illness.
Full results
The overall IBU Cup standings
- The full programme for the Martell-Val Martello European Championships, the sixth leg of the 2024/2025 IBU Cup
- IBU Cup: the French selection for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: the Italian selection for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: thirteen Austrians at the European Championships in Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: Germany packs a punch at the European Championships in Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: the impressive Norwegian squad for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
- Martell-Val Martello: Germany’s Johanna Puff individual European champion, Amandine Mengin fourth
- Martell-Val Martello: Isak Frey takes the individual continental title, Oscar Lombardot best Frenchman
- “I decided to stay cool before every shot”: Fredrik Muehlbacher, the surprise guest on the podium of the European Championships individual event
- Martell-Val Martello: Bresse’s Amandine Mengin finishes runner-up in the European sprint behind Sweden’s Anna-Karin Heijdenberg
- Amandine Mengin tells Nordic Magazine after her European silver medal in the sprint: “I still have the same problem, I don’t realise it!
- “It’s absolutely incredible”: the joy of Anna-Karin Heijdenberg, crowned European sprint champion at Martell-Val Martello
- “This track suits me perfectly”: bronze in the sprint at the European Championships, a bright spot in the season for Latvia’s Baiba Bendika
- Martell-Val Martello: Sivert Guttorm Bakken becomes European sprint champion ahead of Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, Théo Guiraud-Poillot in the top 10
- “This victory means a lot”: European sprint champion at Martell-Val Martello, Sivert Guttorm Bakken savours his return to the summit
