Biathlon World Championships – Men's 15km Mass Start, 19 February 2023, Oberhof, Germany. On the right, the winner of the race Sebastian Samuelsson from Sweden, on the left second Martin Ponsiluoma from Sweden.
Oberhof (Germany) – Tomáš Mikyska took fourteenth place in the final race at the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof and equaled his lifetime best. Jakub Štvrtecký was twenty-second after six penalty laps, Michal Krčmář made one more mistake and finished in 27th position. Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson won ahead of compatriot Martin Ponsiluma and Norway's Johannes Thingnes Bö.
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Photo gallery: Biathlon WC in Oberhof
The 25-year-old Samuelsson did not have to take a single penalty lap and beat Ponsiluoma by 9.6 seconds. World Cup leader Bö paid the price for three shooting mistakes, losing 38.8 seconds to first place and missing out on a record sixth triumph in one World Cup. Nevertheless, he became the king of the championship with five gold, one silver and one bronze.
The best Czech competitor, Mikyska, made only one mistake on the range and fought for twelfth place in the end. At the finish line, however, he was not enough for Nor Vetle's Sjaestad Christiansen and the German Justus Strelow.
“It was great, I just couldn't do much on the track anymore. I didn't feel like I did yesterday's relay. But I'm glad that I I stopped shooting because it was difficult. Because of the wetness, my hands were frozen on the last two stands and I didn't feel the trigger. But in the end I hit it,” Mikyska told Czech Television. “I evaluate the championship positively. Apart from the sprint, all the races went beyond my expectations,” he added.
Mikyska and Štvrtecký made it to the race for the top thirty competitors for the first time in their careers. The last time the Czech men were three in a race with a mass start at the World Championships was six years ago in Hochfilzen.
The representatives entered the rainy race with a mistake on the initial prone position. The 22-year-old native of Ústí nad Orlicí Mikyska was already 100 percent at the next three stops, while Štvrtecký and Krčmář did not record a single clean shot, and repeated the placing from Tuesday's endurance race.
The main favorite Bö, despite two mistakes, remained in the lead before the last shooting, but missed the last target during the final stand and had to go for another penalty round. He returned to the track with a loss of 6.8 seconds to the leader Ponsiluom, but in the final lap he had no energy left to attack. With five gold medals at one World Cup, however, she shares the absolute record with German Laura Dahlmeier (2017) and compatriot Marte Olsbu Röiseland (2020).
The victorious Samuelsson won in Oberhof for the first time after three bronze medals. He finished third in the pursuit, endurance race and relay.
Results of the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof – mass start races:
Men (15 km): 1 . Samuelsson 36:42.8 (0 tr. laps), 2. Ponsiluoma (both Swed.) -9.6 (2), 3. J.T. Bö -38.8 (3), 4. Laegreid (both Nor.) – 55.8 (2), 5. Rastorgujevs (Lat.) -1:07.3 (3), 6. Fillon Maillet (Fr.) -1:10.9 (2), …14. Mikyska -1:46.2 (1), 22. Štvrtecký -2:57.9 (6), 27. Krčmář (all Czech Republic) -4:06.1 (7)
15:15 women 12.5 km (Davidová, Voborníková).
