Östersund, Sweden – Following a challenging start to the biathlon World Cup season for the women’s team, the men’s individual race is set to take center stage wednesday, with athletes facing possibly similar windy conditions[1]. The Czech team will field a four-man squad, welcoming back Jonáš Mareček from a brief illness, though Jakub Štvrtecký will sit this competition out as a precautionary measure[1]. The 20-kilometer race will be a test of endurance and precision as the athletes begin their pursuit of olympic qualification points.
Following Tuesday’s challenging women’s competition impacted by windy conditions, the men are set to kick off the biathlon season in Östersund with the first individual race. Only four Czech representatives will be competing, but a key player is back in action: Jonáš Mareček, who sat out the opening relay due to a cold. Meanwhile, Jakub Štvrtecký will be held out as a precaution due to minor health concerns.
“He didn’t even train on Monday. It didn’t make sense to risk it. We’d rather save him for Saturday’s sprint,” explained men’s coach Michael Málek on the Czech biathlon website. He expressed relief at Mareček’s recovery, adding, “He’s feeling better and better.”
Michal Krčmář will be the first Czech athlete to take to the 20-kilometer course at 3:40 PM, starting with bib number 20. He and his teammates opened the season with a seventh-place finish in the relay. “Of course, it could always be better, but we stumbled a bit. After the first leg of the men’s relay, we were almost afraid they would pull away, but the guys fought back relatively well. And they had the sixth-fastest runner. Mikuláš then held his own in the single mixed race,” coach Málek assessed after the first weekend of the biathlon series.
Three and a half minutes after Krčmář, Jonáš Mareček, now recovered, will start with bib number 27, followed by last season’s breakout star, Vítězslav Hornig, at 3:49 PM with bib number 38. Hornig, along with Krčmář, Tereza Voborníková, and Markéta Davidová, finished fifth in Sunday’s mixed relay. However, Hornig was hampered by cramps during his leg. “I wasn’t able to engage my legs at all. I hope that doesn’t happen on Wednesday’s 20k, because that would be a disaster,” Hornig said to Czech Television over the weekend.
“Víťa said his legs were already shaking a bit in the opening relay. That could have been the initial cause. He wasn’t completely fit, and it got worse the next day. He received some vitamins and electrolytes to get back on track,” Málek noted.
Rounding out the Czech contingent, Mikuláš Karlík will start at 4:30 PM with bib number 77. He and Lucia Charvátová finished 13th in the mixed pair relay. “It wasn’t top-tier, but he again avoided a penalty lap, which is important for him,” Málek added.
Among the 103 biathletes, defending champion Sturla Holm Laegreid of Norway (bib number 46), French representatives Éric Perrot (bib number 44) and Quentin Fillon Maillet (bib number 52), and Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson (bib number 54) are expected to be among the favorites. But will the unpredictable wind that impacted Tuesday’s women’s race play a role in the men’s competition?
