The Finnish Biathlon Championships wrapped up the season with strong performances across sprint and individual races. Erika Jänkä and Santtu Panttila won the individual events, while Inka Hämäläinen and Arttu Heikkinen took sprint titles in challenging conditions.

At the Finnish Biathlon Championships, shortened individual races were held on Sunday. The women’s race was won by Erika Jänkä of Ahveniston Ampumahiihtäjät. Jänkä incurred a total of three penalties in the prone shootings and shot clean in the standing stages. Her club teammate Noora Kaisa Keränen took silver, finishing 17 seconds behind the winner. Keränen also had three penalties in total. Lyydia Rainio of Tuusulan Voima-Veikot claimed bronze, with two penalties and finishing 50 seconds behind the winner.

The men’s race was won by Santtu Panttila of Imatran Urheilijat, who missed only one shot in the entire competition. Turkka Nieminen of Punkalaitumen Kunto took silver with three penalties, finishing 1 minute and 2 seconds behind the winner. Tuomas Harjula of Tuusulan Voima-Veikot took bronze, finishing just a few tenths behind Nieminen. Harjula had two penalties in total. He was a few minutes late to the start, which added extra time to his result.

Check the Sunday race results here.

Sprint races were held on Saturday

The women’s sprint Finnish championship was won by Inka Hämäläinen of Kontiolahden Urheilijat, who shot clean in both stages.

“I felt ready to fight, but the conditions were really tough today. I managed to shoot clean and avoided extra distance on the track. It always feels good to beat strong competitors,” Hämäläinen commented.

Erika Jänkä of Ahveniston Ampumahiihtäjät finished second, 15 seconds behind the winner with clean shooting. Suvi Minkkinen of Joutsan Pommi was third, finishing 56 seconds behind with two penalties. Minkkinen missed twice in prone but shot clean in standing.

The men’s sprint Finnish championship was won by Arttu Heikkinen of Puijon Hiihtoseura. He shot clean in the prone stage and had one penalty in standing.

“I had a good feeling going into the race. The conditions were tough for everyone, but the slushy snow suited me. It’s great to win the Finnish championship and my first medal in the senior category. Let’s aim for more in the coming years,” Heikkinen commented.

Olli Hiidensalo of Lahden Hiihtoseura took silver, finishing just four seconds behind the winner. He had one penalty in both shooting stages. Santtu Panttila of Imatran Urheilijat finished third, 25 seconds behind the winner, with one penalty in standing.

Check the Saturday race results here.

Text: Matilda Suhonen/Teemu Virtanen