Double victory for the Germans in the women's sprint race, Mäkäräinen 18:s

The Germans took a double win in the women's sprint, with Denise Herrmann taking the win and Franziska Preuss second. Both shot one missed shot, the difference was 20.1 seconds in favor of Herrmann. Herrmann's second win of the season brought him the overall cup victory in speed races for the first time.

- The competition was equal for everyone, it snowed all the time. The most important thing was to shoot cleanly or without many mistakes. I was lucky in some situations, Herrmann recounted on the website biathlonworld.com.

Kaisa Mäkäräinen managed to shoot zeroes from lying down, but three missed from standing.

- Vire was really good, probably one of the best experiences of the winter, Mäkäräinen picked one of the most positive things.

He was happy to compete, even though the situation is exceptional.

- This is really sad, Mäkäräinen regretted the absence of the audience and was concerned for his club's Kontiolahti Athletes.

- It doesn't matter who helps, but hopefully someone will help to cover expenses in such a way that biathlon can continue in this village.

Suvi Minkkinen was 35th, Mari Eder 47th and Erika Jänkä 92nd. Minkkinen was satisfied with his day, but Eder was in a different mood.

- There wasn't much left to tell the grandchildren, Eder said.

After the competition, the International Biathlon Union IBU decided that the World Cup season 2019-2020 will end in Kontiolahti. The women's and men's pursuits will be contested on Saturday, but the relays planned for Sunday will be left out of the program.

Photos: Heidi Lehikoinen