Biathlon: Baiba Bendika saves her season
Latvian biathlete Baiba Bendika ‘s 2024/2025 season has been a tricky one so far. Having only once finished in the top 40 on the World Cup in eight individual races, she returned to the IBU Cup circuit in January to get back to basics.
Competing this week in the European Championships in Martell-Val Martello (Italy), she put a smile back on her face by winning the bronze medal in the sprint. “This season has been very difficult for me so far, and once again it has shown that you have to keep fighting and never give up,” she told Nordic Magazine.
She became a mother in October 2023
Looking back on her race, marked by an 8/10 in shooting and a solid ski time, Baiba Bendika describes a “difficult” sprint. This place [the Martell-Val Martello site, editor’s note] is a real challenge for everyone, so it’s difficult for both shooting and cross-country skiing, she explained. So I tried to stay fast, while controlling myself, right up to the last loop, when I just went for it.”
“The altitude and the steep climbs make this track difficult, especially as there’s nowhere to ‘hide’. You have to be in good shape and feel good at altitude, so this track suits me perfectly”, concludes the Latvian, who will become the mother of a little Emils in October 2023.
- The full programme for the Martell-Val Martello European Championships, the sixth leg of the 2024/2025 IBU Cup
- IBU Cup: the French selection for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: the Italian selection for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: thirteen Austrians at the European Championships in Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: Germany with a strong showing at the European Championships in Martell-Val Martello
- IBU Cup: the impressive Norwegian squad for the European Championships at Martell-Val Martello
- Martell-Val Martello: Germany’s Johanna Puff individual European champion, Amandine Mengin fourth
- Martell-Val Martello: Isak Frey takes the individual continental title, Oscar Lombardot best Frenchman
- “I decided to stay cool before every shot”: Fredrik Muehlbacher, the surprise guest on the podium of the European Championships individual event
- Martell-Val Martello: Bresse’s Amandine Mengin finishes runner-up in the European sprint behind Sweden’s Anna-Karin Heijdenberg
- “It’s absolutely incredible”: the joy of Anna-Karin Heijdenberg, crowned European sprint champion at Martell-Val Martello
