Biathlon: Maren Kirkeeide has found her breakthrough
The 21-year-old Norwegian Maren Kirkeeide is not about to forget her week in Oberhof (Germany). Used to taking pride of place in the World Cup, her inconsistent shooting has often been her undoing. After a complicated start to the season, punctuated by a frustrating nineteenth place in the mass-start in Le Grand Bornand (Haute-Savoie), she has found her way to the podium in recent days in the Thuringian forest.
However, the Scandinavian biathlete did not come to Germany reassured. 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 ahead of Thursday’s sprint! A situation that didn’t faze Maren Kirkeeide, who was determined to perform. “I was very prepared not to get my bag back, so I was quite calm about it and thought I’d use a spare gun,” she told NRK.
A liberating sprint
This was without knowing the exceptional race that the Norwegian would deliver a few hours later, with just one missed target and a supersonic ski time. An XXL performance that gave her her first career podium, behind an astonishing Paula Botet.
On Saturday, Maren Kirkeeide, with an 18/20 in the shooting, took a superb second place in a thrilling pursuit won by the imperious Lou Jeanmonot. Progress has been built step by step.
Speaking to NRK, her compatriot Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold said she was impressed but not surprised by her team-mate’s performance: “It’s been great fun to be in the same training group as her and to follow her progress. It’s been a step-by-step process and she’s at a very high level.”
These results show that she will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the season, particularly at the World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland).
Read also:
- Oberhof: Paula Botet, with 10/10, dominates the sprint and wins her first World Cup title
- Confirmation year for Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide?
