Knotten in tears after failing race: – It was a shock

Knotten in tears after failing race: – It was a shock

On Friday afternoon in Le Grand Bornand, there was joy for the French home crowd, while Karoline Knotten had a challenging day at work.

During the women’s biathlon sprint, not a single Norwegian achieved success, but the French fans had reason to cheer as Justine Braisaz-Bouchet emerged victorious with nine out of ten shots hitting the target.

Germany's Franziska Preuss secured second place with perfect shooting as well, while Slovenia's Anamarija Lampič clinched the last podium spot.

Maren Kirkeeide was the best Norwegian, finishing 11th, 47.1 seconds behind the French winner. Karoline Knotten had a particularly tough day and ended up in 55th place, over 2 minutes behind. In an emotional interview with TV 2, Knotten expressed her frustration, saying, "It really sucks to ski on a day when you realize it’s not working. I have no good answers for the tears. I’ve consciously taken it easy and regained strength. It was nice to ski yesterday, same with the jog in the morning. It was a shock to experience zero response today."

Both men and women will compete in pursuit races on Saturday, concluding the World Cup festivities in Le Grand Bornand with mass starts on Sunday. After the weekend, there will be a brief pause before the elite biathletes return to Oberhof, Germany, from January 9 to 12.