The mixed biathlon relay on Monday ended with a clean and concise victory for the Czech duo of Tereza Jandová and Jakub Kocián, giving the delegation its second gold and fifth overall medal at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.
The winners finished the event in 37:25.3 minutes, after four combined laps and shooting attempts. The silver and bronze medallists were Pauline Machut and Axel Garnier of France and Yuliia Horodna and Stepan Kinash of Ukraine, respectively.
The Czechs were the highest ranked competitors heading into the race, Jandová having won bronze in the women’s individual 12.5 km race on Saturday and Kocian having ranked fourth in the men’s 15 km. Jandová had also previously won a Junior IBU Cup event in Pokljuka, Slovenia in January 2021.
“This is a really hard track, but we had great ski, so it was easier,” said Jandová in a post-victory interview.
“Yes, this [course] is a long way from what we are used to,” added Kocián.
The relay consists of four 1.5 km laps around the course and two opportunities each for shooting five targets. The prone target, which is shot at laying down, is the size of a golf ball. The standing target is the size of a CD.
During the opening portion of the first lap, Shilo Rousseau of Canada, winner of the women’s individual 12.5 km, sped ahead of her competitors. It was during the first shooting that eventual winner Jandova secured the lead. Rousseau then spent a portion of the first lap trailing her.
The Czechs made their first exchange around the 10-minute mark, while Kinash vied for second with Kazakh Alexandr Mukhin after his relay exchange. Meanwhile, Kocián continued his streak, his fourth shooting going clean.
The second Jandová-Kocián exchange happened at 16:45, during which Pole Anna Nędza-Kubiniec rushed to a quick and temporary second.
Nearing the end of the race, Garnier was trailing directly in second, challenged by Mukhin. At this point, the gold was in the bag for the Czech Republic. The real battle was for silver, which the French claimed by a slim five-second margin.
Biathlon at Lake Placid 2023 continues on Wednesday with the women’s 7.5 km sprint and the men’s 10 km sprint.
Written by Christopher Benítez Cuartas, FISU Young Reporter
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