Norwegian Biathletes Sweep the Podium and Take All Five Top Places at Estonian Championships

Norway took all five top places in the men’s sprint at the open Estonian summer biathlon championships in Otepää. Johan-Olav Botn won the 10-kilometre race despite missing one target in each shooting round, relying on his speed on the course.

His closest challenger, compatriot Einar Hedegart, made three shooting errors and finished 39.8 seconds behind. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen placed third, 45.7 seconds back after a two-round score of 2+0. Ole Tafjord Suhrke and Isak Leknes Frey completed Norway’s sweep of the top five.

Jakob Kulbin was the leading Estonian in sixth, 1 minute and 20 seconds behind Botn after one missed target in the opening shoot. Rene Zahkna finished seventh, Mark-Markos Kehva ninth, Yaroslav Neverov 14th and Kristo Siimer 15th. Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, an Olympic champion in the mass-start event, also finished 15th. Forty athletes took part.

The championships are being held at the Tehvandi Sports Centre over the weekend of September 5 and 6. Alongside Estonia, competitors from Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland are taking part. Norway arrived in Otepää at the end of August for a training camp and to become familiar with the venue for the 2027 World Championships. Its men’s A and B teams brought 12 athletes.

Other national teams, including Finland, Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Switzerland and Germany, have also trained at the centre this summer. Otepää will host the LaVita IBU Biathlon World Championships from February 9 to 21 next year.