Tuuli Tomingas takes biathlon crown in Estonian championships
The Estonian championships in biathlon took place over the weekend in Otepää with Tuuli Tomingas dominating the women's disciplines.
Tomingas triumphed on Saturday in the 7.5 km sprint, finishing as the only contestant with perfect shooting rounds. The top Estonian woman finished with a time of 21 minutes and 55.4 seconds, followed by Regina Oja (2; +1.00) and bronze finisher Johanna Talihärm (3; +1.27).
Tomingas was also the best in the 10 km mass start on Sunday, having taken a considerable lead by the fourth kilometer. The Estonian champion finished with a time of 30.29,2.
"It was a very-very controlled competition today, did not take myself to the red at all. Since shooting in the final round came out fine, I could go to the end at a nice pace," Tomingas told ERR.
The World Cup will continue next week at Oberhof, Germany. "Next week is where I am. The weekend - I did not put out my maximum. I am certainly not at my best, but the weekend's competition was great training. The competition showed that how I shoot at practice does not play a role at all," Tomingas said.
In the men's heats, Raido Rähkel came out on top in the 10 km sprint. The mass start 12.5 km was taken by Rene Zahkna, who was perfect on all but three of his shots, finishing with a time of 34.03,8.
"I am still not close to what I know I am capable of. Shooting saved me today. I got three missed in the third round, but others missed as well," Zahkna told ERR.
"Because I missed a World Cup round, I have been able to practice my shooting. I am glad that Lithuanians and Latvians participated. You are often dealing with world skiers among Lithuanian boys and they are always on the chase. We do not always do this well," Zahkna added.
Lithuanian Karol Dombrovski came in second, also missing on three shots, losing to the Estonian by 7,1 seconds. The third place also went to Lithuania with Tomas Kaukenas coming in 1,3 seconds after Dombrovski, also missing three shots.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste