Biathlon: Susan Kuelm at 20/20, Camille Bened third
A few hours after Sivert Guttorn Bakken ‘s victory in the men’s individual short, it was the turn of the women to compete in Otepää (Estonia), on the IBU Cup circuit.
The penultimate individual event of the 2024/2025 season, this 12.5km individual short race could prove decisive in the race for the crystal globe. With a 76-point lead over Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Camille Bened had the opportunity to close the deal once and for all.
Starting with bib number 7, the Chablais native clocked 18/20. Camille Bened was also very fast on cross-country skis, crossing the finish line in the lead.
But Estonia’s Susan Kuelm (20/20) then put in a tremendous home run to take the lead by 6.4 seconds, winning at the age of 28 for the first time in her career. Norway’s Karoline Erdal (19/20), 5.4 seconds back, then moved into second place.
Voldiya Galmace-Paulin lifts the small individual globe
Third-placed Camille Bened had only to wait for the ranking of Voldiya Galmace-Paulin (18/20) to find out if the big one was assured. Sixth at the end of the last firing point and again at km 10.9, the Haut-Savoyard climbed up the rankings in the final hectometres to snatch fourth place and maintain a semblance of suspense for the big globe.
With one race to go, Camille Bened has an 86-point lead over Voldiya Galmace-Paulin. On Friday, Galmace-Paulin will have to win the sprint and hope for a huge crack from her opponent to lift the trophy. In the meantime, she has secured the small individual globe, her first in her career.
Swiss Lea Meier (20/20) and Paula Botet (17/20) completed the day’s flower ceremony. Gilonne Guigonnat (17/20) finished tenth, Célia Henaff (16/20) twenty-second in her first IBU Cup competition and Fany Bertrand (15/20) thirty-eighth.
Full results
IBU Cup general ranking
The final general ranking of the IBU Cup individual event
- The full programme for the second IBU Cup in Otepää, the ninth and final leg of the 2024/2025 B circuit season
- “We’ll have a full quota”: Cyril Burdet confirms that France will be sending nine girls to the World Cup finals in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Camille Bened, overall leader of the IBU Cup with two small globes already in her pocket, ahead of the final stretch of the season: “We’re going to have to race hard”.
- “I just want to enjoy myself”: how Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, second overall, is approaching the final stretch of the IBU Cup season.
- Otepää: Sivert Guttorm Bakken wins the IBU Cup individual short, Gaëtan Paturel excellent fifth
- IBU Cup: at just 19, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin wins the small globe in the individual event
