The biathlon World Cup season has concluded, with mass starts held at Holmenkollen in Oslo. Suvi Minkkinen ultimately secured fifth place in the World Cup standings.

Suvi Minkkinen wrapped up a long and eventful biathlon World Cup season in 16th place, competing in the mass starts at Holmenkollen in Oslo on Sunday. After missing one shot, Minkkinen finished 1 minute and 28.6 seconds behind the race winner, Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi.

Minkkinen missed her first shot but hit the remaining 19. However, her skiing times placed her only 27th overall.

Minkkinen described how the pressure and disappointment from Saturday’s pursuit race, where she lost the pursuit cup title, weighed on her during the season finale.

“Saturday was filled with tension and disappointment, which left my body and mind fatigued. I came today (Sunday) to complete my last workday before vacation, and I couldn’t offer more than this. It was a decent and intact competition with a tired body,” Minkkinen summarized in a statement from the Biathlon Association.

The World Cup title was claimed by France’s Lou Jeanmonnot, followed by Sweden’s Hanna Öberg and Vittozzi, who rose to third place with her victory in the final race. Sweden’s Elvira Öberg finished fourth, with Minkkinen in fifth. Throughout the season, Minkkinen won one race and finished second five times. In the pursuit cup, she placed second and fifth in the sprint cup.

“I achieved my goals, which included a medal at the Olympics. Everything else has been a bonus. I see what might be possible to aim for in the future. The season has been incredible, even though at this point, I can only remember the last competitions,” Minkkinen noted.

“It’s nice, anyway, that the international season is now over.”

In the season statistics, Minkkinen ranked among the best in shooting: of those who fired over 500 shots, she had the highest hit percentage at 90.8, with only Germany’s Vanessa Voigt (92.5) and France’s Camille Bened (91.4) surpassing her among those who shot over 400 times. In skiing statistics, Minkkinen was 20th, falling behind all four competitors who finished ahead of her in the overall cup standings.

Also Read: Minkkinen finishes second in Pursuit Cup – Seppälä best Finnish male competitor yesterday

Seppälä falls

The men’s mass start was won by Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn, followed by Germany’s Philipp Nawrath and overall cup winner, France’s Eric Perrot. Finland’s Tero Seppälä was also in the race, but his competition fell apart after a fall on the first lap. Seppälä finished alone in last place, 30th.

In the overall World Cup standings, Seppälä placed 23rd, with his best finish being 12th, which he achieved twice.

“It was quite a painful competition. It was a full effort just to reach the finish after the fall. That’s done now, and next, I can rest,” Seppälä said in a statement from the Biathlon Association.

“The season included some good performances, but overall, I fell short of my goals. The relay races with Suvi (Minkkinen) were fantastic, and the relay with the men in Kontiolahti will stay in my memory. The home competitions were also a great experience. There is room for improvement in my individual events for next year.”

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Text: Janne Lehikoinen (STT Urheilu)/Teemu Virtanen