The medalists of the first women race quite unexpectedly became Ukraine’s Yuliia Dzhima, who claimed her first victory in Pokljuka’s 15K. The second place went to Poland’s Monika Hojnisz (+5.9) and the bronze medal to Marketa Davidova from Czech Republic (+16.5). Slovakia’s Paulina Fialkova was fourth, Latvia’s Baiba Bendika fifth, and Italy’s Lisa Vitozzi took the sixth place.
The lucky winner Dzhima was extremely happy after the competition: “I started the last season with two third places, so that’s why I decided to start this year with a win. Of course I hope that this is not my last victory. I didn’t know which starting group to choose; since I haven’t started in the last one for quite some time but apparently I was lucky with my choice. I have spent the summer with the men’s Slovenia team. I would like to thank the president of my federation and Uroš Velepec, who has allowed to train with them. This training sessions have helped me a lot. I could almost say that this was a half home win for me.”
The silver medalist Hojnisz was kind of surprised with her achievement: “I’m quite astonished with the second place because I had to wait for a long time. My last podium was in 2013. I did my best in today’s race and I’m really happy about it. Individual race is a good distance for me, since I am not a sprinter. I fought hard till the finish line, although it was the most important to focus at the shooting range. I give it all on the shooting and I’m satisfied with my performance.”
21-years old Davidova, who won her first podium in the career, celebrated her achievement with her team in the finish area after the flower ceremony. She still shared the joy with her rivals: “I didn’t expect to claim a medal at such a young age. It is very nice to be here and I have no words to express the joy. I think that the clean shooting was the key for today’s result.”
Photos by Anže Kacin and Žiga Kalan.
