Biathlon: Frenchwoman Paula Botet creates huge surprise by winning Oberhof sprint

Thanks to a flawless shooting performance, the 24-year-old biathlete signed her very first World Cup victory, this Thursday, January 9.

Frenchwoman Paula Botet won the 7.5 km sprint of the 4th stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof (Germany) on Thursday afternoon. The 24-year-old biathlete, who replaced Sophie Chauveau in the French group at the end of December, won her first World Cup victory in her first race this season.

“I don't know what to say, I was freezing, I thought to myself “You're doing anything”. Improbable”, she reacted after the event, to the channel's microphone L'Equipe.

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The Vosges native was one of the few to achieve a flawless shooting performance (10/10), despite gusts of wind on the German shooting range. Until now, she had never done better than 21st place in the World Cup.

Braisaz-Bouchet just off the podium, six French women in the top twelve

Norwegian Maren Kirkeeide came in 2nd at 31 seconds, followed by Bulgarian Milena Todorova (+35 sec). Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet finished just off the podium, at 40 seconds.

The French women made their mark in Oberhof with solid races: the six biathletes finished in the top 12 places. Germany's Franziska Preuss, the overall leader, had her worst performance of the season, 2 minutes behind Paula Botet, and finished 28th, dropping out of the Top 5 for the first time this season.