Gandler finishes 19th - Lisa Hauser takes eighth in Kontiolahti Sprint

Lisa Hauser

The Tirol resident, Lisa Hauser, achieved a remarkable eighth place in the sprint event at the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti, after previously securing sixth in the individual competition on Saturday.

Hauser remained flawless at the shooting range, just like several top-ten competitors, including Marketa Davidova. Hauser finished 29.6 seconds behind the victorious Czech competitor, while Finnish surprise third-place finisher Suvi Minkkinen was 17.7 seconds off. Despite two missed shots, Swedish athlete Elvira Öberg secured the second position, finishing 8.8 seconds behind.

"It feels great to secure a top-ten result today, especially with zero errors at the shooting range. There was a bit of wind, so I’m even happier it went so well," noted Hauser, who now stands in seventh place in the overall World Cup ranking. She qualifies for the mass start event scheduled for Sunday along with Salzburg's Simon Eder in the men's category.

Anna Gandler also had a commendable performance, finishing 19th after a "standing penalty round," coming in 54.2 seconds behind the winner. Dunja Zdouc ranked 39th (1 penalty shot/+1:20.9) but still made it to the World Cup points. Lea Rothschopf (55th/1 penalty shot/+1:52.4) and Kristina Oberthaler (98th/2/+3:59.3) are also preparing for the upcoming races. The next stop in the World Cup circuit is in Hochfilzen, Tirol, next week.

Despite strong expectations, the French team only managed a top-ten spot with Oceane Michelon finishing tenth. The previous winner, Lou Jeanmonnot, who started in the World Cup lead, fell to 17th place. The Norwegian team only had one participant in the top 15, with Karoline Offigstad Knotten (5th/+15.3) trailing the German Franziska Preuss (+12.0) in 4th place as Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (1/+1:14.3) dropped to 32nd position.