Biathlon: a fatal last lap for Suvi Minkkinen
Five minutes apart, at 13:39 and then 13:44, Erik Bartlett Kulstad appeared smiling on the international broadcast of the women’s pursuit at the Biathlon World Cup in Östersund (Sweden). However, the Norwegian coach of the Finnish shooter had very different feelings at these two moments.
At the end of the last standing shot, he seemed relieved with the final pass of his biathlete Suvi Minkkinen. He did make a mistake on the final ball, but that was good enough for 19/20. With the first runner-up – Austrian Lisa Theresa Hauser – 35 seconds behind at the final interval, the gap seemed big enough for a second straight victory.
A fatal last lap
From 12 seconds at the start of the final lap, the yellow bib rider’s lead gradually disappeared. It dropped to 6 seconds after 800 metres, before the Austrian caught up with her on the final climb. Suvi Minkkinen seemed to be on the break after having set a strong pace up to that point, but finally dropped off at the restart at the summit. Hence the second (yellow) smile from his coach.
Her second place on the line enabled her to retain the overall lead, but the scenario was understandably frustrating. On her final loop, she was only 33rd, 25 seconds off the best time. “This hard snow is ideal for me. But my legs have stiffened and it’s harder to push when you’re tired”, she analysed forYle.
Before looking back at his final shot: “I couldn’t concentrate and I made a small mistake. It got away from me very quickly. Sometimes it’s all about the details…”.
It was a temporary disappointment, given the success of the Swedish stage for the Finn. On the podium, she was all smiles.
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