Biathlon: “I fought and it paid off,” says Paulina Batovska Fialkova
“Jeanne Richard in shock”. Sunday, during the mass start of the World Cup stage of biathlon in Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), Jeanne Richard almost reached the podium for the first time. By a small tenth, the Slovak Paulina Batovska Fialkova prevented him from doing so.
The public's encouragement didn't change anything. “Are we even allowed to do this in France? »exclaimed Mona Brorssonconsultant for SVT Sport, live. In Sweden, the end of the biathlete's race des Gets (Haute-Savoie) has not gone unnoticed. The evening ball devotes an article to him. Just like the TV channel SVT.
“The mass start at Grand-Bornand ended in dramatic fashion. Frenchwoman Jeanne Richard has long sought to secure third place behind Germans Selina Grotian and Franziska Preuss. But [Paulina] Batovska Fialkova caught up and passed Richard, much to the dismay of the crowd. The cheers faded into silence. Judging by the television images, Richard did not expect to be overtaken.write our colleagues.
“It’s the worst thing you can experience”reports Norwegian TV2, which rebroadcasts the images. Obviously, in Slovakia, the story is quite different: “I didn’t think third place was still possible. I fought and it paid off.”states thus Paulina Batovska Fialkovain everyday life SME.
In fact, the 31-year-old young woman has come a long way. She wasn't even supposed to be there. These are the packages of Julie Tannheimer, Vanessa Voigt et Karolina Knotten who gave him the opportunity. “I didn't know until the last moment if I was going to start, then I made two mistakes on the first shot. So I thought I would fight for the top 15 again.”she says on her federation’s website.
After his last pass in front of the targets, the podium still seemed inaccessible to him : “Throughout the last lap I thought third place was no longer possible. I didn't even feel like I was catching up [Jeanne Richard]. But the Frenchwoman ran out of steam at the finish line.”
« I didn't feel her coming at all, I didn't know she was behind me at that time. We had no information, I didn't hear anything, it was impossible to hear a sound… I gave everything, I gave all the fuel I had”confided for his part Jeanne Richard has Nordic Magazine.
In the mixed zone, it completed: “I can't be disappointed with my race even if there is a little frustration at the end. » For his third place, Paulina Batovska Fialkova scored 65 points in the general ranking of the biathlon world cup and also received a bonus of 10,000 euros.
For the Slovakian, this result is the second best Christmas present of his life. The first, “when Rominka [sa fille, NDLR] was born last year »she confided.
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