Biathlon: Paula Botet, a “surprising” victory
After a great start to the IBU Cup season, with two wins and four other podium finishes, Paula Botet from the Vosges surprised everyone at the sprint in Oberhof (Germany). In fact, it’s the word ‘surprising’ that is being bandied about by the international media.
In Germany, ZDF described Paula Botet ‘s success as “the surprise victory of an outsider”. In Finland, Ilta-Sanomat described “a race full of surprises won by Paula Botet”. In Sweden, at Aftonbladet, as in Norway with NRK, it was “the unprecedented podium with three novices” that was highlighted.
However, the media prefer to highlight their local athletes. In Norway, NRK focuses on Maren Kirkeeide’s first World Cup podium after a crazy last lap.
This performance is all the more exciting for the Norwegian press when you consider the problem with the 21-year-old biathlete’ s rifle. Her bag got lost on the way to Oberhof and only arrived at the athletes’ hotel just before she was due to leave for the stadium on Thursday morning.
Diverse collective fortunes
On the Swedish side, it was the collective rout that attracted all the attention. The best Swede was Elvira Oeberg, who finished in thirty-seventh place. “It was a fiasco,” wrote Aftonbladet.
In Finland, the performance of Suvi Minkkinen, in fifth place, was highlighted at Ilta-Sanomat… as was the good collective performance of the Finnish girls, with Sonja Leinamo achieving the best ranking of her career in eighth place. Venla Lehtonen and Inka Hämäläinen also finished in the top 30.
Read also
- Oberhof: relive Paula Botet’s magnificent sprint victory on video
- Oberhof: the photo album of Paula Botet’s first World Cup victory
- Oberhof: Paula Botet, the thirteenth Frenchwoman to win individually on the World Cup circuit
- Oberhof: Jeanne Richard stays in blue after the sprint
- Oberhof: Paula Botet, with 10/10, dominates the sprint and wins her first World Cup title
- “Her victory is proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”: Paula Botet’s first World Cup success as seen by Chloé Remy, a lifelong friend and former team-mate.
