11:30. Absent from the 2023/2024 season after becoming pregnant, Paulina Batovska Fialkova returned to the biathlon World Cup last winter keen to prove that she had lost nothing. After a tricky start to the season, the Slovakian pulled off a real coup in the mass-start at Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), where she finished third ahead of France’s Jeanne Richard after a wild final straight.
After that, however, the 32-year-old biathlete never really capitalised on her performance, despite a fine sixth place in the pursuit at Oslo-Holmnekollen (Norway) at the end of the season after a solid comeback. On Wednesday evening, the young mother was rewarded. At the Slovakian sports gala evening, she was awarded the title of Biathlete of the Year in her country.
Read also
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: starting with bib 44, Paulina Batovska Fialkova invites herself to the flower ceremony after a huge comeback in the pursuit
- After her podium finish in Grand-Bornand, Slovakia’s Paulina Batovska Fialkova is skipping the World Cup in Oberhof
- Le Grand-Bornand: beaten by a thread in the mass-start, Jeanne Richard is the talk of the world, while Paulina Batovska Fialkova recounts her end of the race
